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http://www.archive.org/details/africancampfiresOOwhitiala 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 


OTHER  BOOKS  BY  THE   SAME  AUTHOK. 

Jit 

The  Claim  Jumpers,  The  Westerners,  The  Blazed  Trail,  Blazed 

Trail  Stories,  The  Magic  Forest,  Conjuror's  House,  The  Silent 

Places,  The  Forest,  The  Mountains,  Arizona  Nights,  The 

Pass,  Camp  and  Trail,  The  Riverman,  The  Cabin, 

The  Adventures  of  Bobby    Orde,     The 

Rules  of  the  Game,  The  Sign  at  Six, 

Tht  Land  of  Footprints 

(With  Samuel  Hopkins  Adam*) 

The  Mystery 


AFRICAN  CAMP 
FIRES 


BY 


STEWART  EDWARD  WHITE,  F.  R.  G.  S. 


ILLUSTRATED  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 


Garden  City        New  York 

DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 

1913 


Copyright,  1913,  by 

DOUBLEDAY,  PaGE  &  COMPANY 

AU  rights  reserved,  including  that  of 

translation  into  foreign  languages, 

indtiding  the  Scandinavian 


ur 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 
Part  I  —  To  the  Island  of  War 

CHAPTEK  PAGE 

I.     The  Open  Door 3 

II.     The  Farewell ii 

III.  Port  Said i6 

IV.  Suez 25 

V.     The  Red  Sea 31 

VI.     Aden 42 

VII.     The  Indian  Ocean 49 

VIII.     Mombasa 59 

Part  II  —  The  Shimba  Hills 

IX.     A  Tropical  Jungle 77 

X.     The  Sable 89 

XL     A  March  Along  the  Coast     ...  96 

XII.    The  Fire 104 

Part  III  —  Nairobi 

XIII.  Up  from  the  Coast      .      .     .     .     .  113 

XIV.  A  Fiat  Town 119 

V 

679414 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

CBAPTEX  nU3 

XV.     People 125 

XVI.     Recruiting 134 

Part  IV  —  A  Lion  Hunt  on  Kapiti 

XVII.     An  Ostrich  Farm  at  Machakos      .  143 

XVIII.     The  First  Lioness 151 

XIX.     The  Dogs 156 

XX.     Bondoni i6i 

XXI.     Riding  the  Plains 164 

XXII.     The  Second  Lioness 176 

XXIII.  The  Big  Lion i8l 

XXIV.  The  Fifteen  Lions 186 

Part  V  —  The  Tsavo  River 

XXV.    Voi 193 

XXVI.     The  Fringe-Eared  Oryx      .      .      .  199 

XXVII.     Across  the  Serengetti     ....  206 

XXVIII.     Down  the  River 214 

XXIX.     The  Lesser  Kudu 225 

XXX.     Adventures  by  the  Way  .      .        .232 

XXXI.     The  Lost  Safari 239 

XXXII.    The  Babu 247 

Part  VI  —  In  Masailand 

XXXIII.  Over  the  Likipia  Escarpment    .  255 

XXXIV.  To  the  Kedong 267 

vi 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XXXV. 

The  Transport  Rider. 

XXXVI. 

Across  the  Thirst        .... 

XXXVII. 

The  Southern  Guaso  Nyero 

XXXVIII. 

The  Lower  Benches    .... 

XXXIX. 

Notes  on  the  Masai  .... 

XL. 

Through  the  Enchanted  Forest  . 

XLI. 

Naiokotoku 

XLII. 

Scouting  in  the  Elephant  Forest 

XLIII. 

The  Topi  Camp 

XLIV. 

The  Unknown  Land  .... 

XLV. 

The  Roan 

XLVI. 

The  Greater  Kudu      .... 

XLVII. 

The  Magic  Portals  Close      .      . 

XLVIII. 

The  Last  Trek 

270 

278 
286 

293 
310 

326 

331 
336 

344 

352 
356 
366 

372 
375 


vu 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Trophy  Room  of  the  author     .      .         Frontispiece 


FACING  PAGE 


"Camels  laden  with  stone  and  in  convoy  of 

white-clad  figures"           22 

The  control  station 23 

"Innumerable  rowboats  swarmed  down,  filled 
with  eager  salesmen  of  curios  and  ostrich 

plumes " 26 

Dhow  in  the  Red  Sea 27 

Another  View  of  the  Trophy  Room       ...  42 
"We  waited  patiently  to  see  the  camels  slung 

aboard  by  the  crane" 43 

Vasco  da  Gama  Street,  the  principal  thorough- 
fare of  Mombaso 60 

The  trolley  car  of  Mombaso 60 

In  the  ivory  market  of  Mombasa        ...  61 

The  labour  of  Africa  is  carried  forward  by  song  61 

Old  Portuguese  fort  at  Mombasa       ....  68 

In  the  Arab  quarter  of  Mombasa.      ...  68 

In  the  Swahili  quarter  of  Mombasa   ...  69 
The  entire  water  supply  of  Mombasa  is  drawn 

from  numberless  picturesque  wells      .      .  69 
iz 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


VACING  PAGE 


The  lazy  Boabab  Tree 76 

In  the  native  quarter  of  Mombasa     .      .      .       yj 

Swahili  women  at  Mombasa 86 

The  slope  fell  gently  away  through  a  coconut 

grove 87 

The  camp  beneath  the  mangoes    ....       87 

The  Sable 90 

"From    it   led    a    narrow   path    through    the 

thicket" 91 

"The  hotel  manager  came  forward  with  the 
offer  of  a  gasoline  launch,  which  we  gladly 

accepted" 9^ 

"Then  suddenly  we  found  ourselves  in  a  story- 
book, tropical  paradise" 93 

Masai  women  at  a  station  of  the  Uganda  Rail- 
road       116 

Train  on  the  Uganda  Railway 116 

"Inside  a  fence  —  before  the  low,  stone-built, 

wide-verandahed  hotel" 117 

"  Savages  from  the  jungle  untouched  by  civili- 
zation—  wander  the   streets   unabashed"     124 
Convicts  marching  into  Nairobi  in  charge  of 

Soudanese        .      .      .      .^ 125 

"But  the  native  is  the  joy,  and  the  never- 
ceasing  delight"         ^^8 

In  the  bazaar  at  Nairobi.     Kikuyus  bargaining     128 

X 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PACE 


"Kapiti  goes  on  over  the  edge  of  the  world  to 

unknown,   unguessed   regions,   rolling  and 

troubled  like  a  sea" 129 

"The  ostriches  are  kept  in  corrals"    .      .      .  144 

"The  first  lioness,  the  Hills  and  Captain  Duirs  "  145 
"They  closed  in  and  began  to  worry  the  nearly 

lifeless  carcass " 168 

Spying  for  lions  from  the  kopjes  .      .      .  169 

"Kongoni" 202 

The  Topi 203 

The  desert  of  the  Serengetti 216 

"In  the  river  jungle" 217 

The  Tsavo  River  below  the  junction.      .      .  217 

The  Lesser  Kudu 228 

Bushbuck  —  a  very  shy  bush-dwelling  animal. 

This  photograph  is  most  unusual  .  .  229 
"Each  day  the  pinnacles  over  the  way  changed 

slightly  their  compass  directions "  .  .  .  248 
Left  to  right  —  Timothy,  Abba  AH,  Leyeye, 

Mohamet 249 

Cuninghame 262 

Crossing  the  Southern  Guaso  Narok  .      .      .  263 

Kingangui 280 

Kimau         280 

"From  it  we  looked  down  into  the  deep  gorge 

of  the  Southern  Guaso  Nyero"  ....  281 
zi 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

rACIHG  PACK 

The  Eland 288 

Cape  Buffalo 288 

The  Fourth  Bench 289 

The  Valley  of  Lengeetoto 304 

Cheetah 304 

Our  camp  at  the  Narossara 305 

Our  camp  in  Lengeetoto 305 

Illustrating  the  heavy  iron  jewellery  .      .      .  310 

Unmarried  woman  with  goatskin  robe  310 
"These  low-rounded  huts  in  shape  like  a  loaf 

of  bread" 31I 

"Upward  of  a  thousand  head  in  charge  of  two 

old  women  on  foot" 314 

"They   visited    camp    freely,    and    would    sit 

down  for  a  good  lively  afternoon  of  joking"  315 

Warriors 324 

"The  southern  branch  of  the  race  —  are  very 

fine  physically" 324 

Masai  men  and  women 325 

"In  the  southern  districts  the  warriors  wear 

two  single  black  ostrich  feathers"  .  .  325 
"The  girl  in  the  middle  ground  has  painted  her 

face  white  to  indicate  travel"  .  .  332 
When  moving  the  villages  they  take  with  them 

only  the  wicker  doors 332 

Maiai  with  headdress  of  lion's  mane        .      .  333 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


TACINO  PAOE 


A  neophyte  with  headdress  of  small  bird  skins  333 

The  El-morani  is  an  imposing  figure        .      .      .  340 

Masai  El-morani,  or  warrior 340 

Construction  of  V.'s  boma 341 

"I  offered  a  half  rupee  as  a  prize  for  an  archery 

competition" 348 

Naiokotuku  and  one  of  his  sons    ....  349 
Our  southernmost  camp.     From  this  point  we 

turned  back 352 

"  We  called  the  Masai  and  Wanderobo  before 

us" 353 

A  present  from  Naiokotuku 353 

The  Roan 360 

"It  was   almost  exactly   like   the   sage-brush 

deserts" 361 

"In  the  Elephant  country" 368 

The  Greater  Kudu 369 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 


THE  OPEN  DOOR 

THERE  are  many  interesting  hotels  scattered 
about  the  world,  with  a  few  of  which  I  am 
acquainted  and  with  a  great  many  of  which  I  am 
not.  Of  course  all  hotels  are  interesting,  from  one 
point  of  view  or  another.  In  fact  the  surest  way  to 
fix  an  audience's  attention  is  to  introduce  your  hero, 
or  to  display  your  opening  chorus  in  the  lobby  or 
along  the  fagade  of  a  hotel.  The  life,  the  movement 
and  colour,  the  shifting  individualities,  the  pretence, 
the  bluff,  the  self-consciousness,  the  independence, 
the  ennui,  the  darting  or  lounging  servants,  the  very 
fact  that  of  those  before  your  eyes  seven  out  of 
ten  are  drawn  from  distant  and  scattered  places, 
are  sufficient  in  themselves  to  invest  the  smallest 
hostelry  with  glamour.  It  is  not  of  this  general 
interest  that  I  would  now  speak.  Nor  is  it  my 
intention  at  present  to  glance  at  the  hotels  wherein 

3 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

"quaintness"  is  specialized,  whether  intentionally 
or  no.  There  are  thousands  of  them;  and  all  of 
them  well  worth  the  discriminating  traveller's 
attention.  Concerning  some  of  them  —  as  the  old 
inns  at  Dives-sur-mer  and  at  Mont  St.  Michel  — 
whole  books  have  been  written.  These  depend  for 
their  charm  on  a  mingled  gift  of  the  unusual  and  the 
picturesque.  There  are,  as  I  have  said,  thousands 
of  them;  and  of  their  cataloguing,  should  one  embark 
on  so  wide  a  sea,  there  could  be  no  end.  And, 
again,  I  must  for  convenience  exclude  the  altogether 
charming  places  like  the  Tour  d'Argent  of  Paris, 
Simpsons  of  the  Strand,*  and  a  dozen  others  that 
will  spring  to  every  traveller's  memory,  where  the 
personality  of  the  host,  or  of  a  chef,  or  even  a  waiter, 
is  at  once  a  magnet  for  the  attraction  of  visitors  and 
a  reward  for  their  coming.  These  too  are  many. 
In  the  interest  to  which  I  would  draw  attention, 
the  hotel  as  a  building  or  as  an  institution  has  little 
part.  It  is  indeed  a  fagade,  a  mise  en  scene  before 
which  play  the  actors  that  attract  our  attention  and 
applause.  The  set  may  be  as  modernly  elaborate 
as  Peacock  Alley  of  the  Waldorf  or  the  templed 
lobby  of  the  St.  Francis;  or  it  may  present  the 
severe  and  Elizabethan  simplicity  of  the  stone-paved 
veranda  of  the  Norfolk  at  Nairobi  —  the  matter  is 

*In  old  days  before  the  "improvements." 

4 


THE  OPEN  DOOR 

quite  Inessential  to  the  spectator.  His  appreciation 
is  only  slightly  and  indirectly'  influenced  by  these 
things.  Sunk  in  his  arm-chair  —  of  velvet  or  of 
canvas  —  he  puffs  hard  and  silently  at  his  cigar, 
watching  and  listening  as  the  pageant  and  the 
conversation  eddy  by. 

Of  such  hotels  I  number  that  gaudy  and  poly- 
syllabic hostelry  the  Grand  Hotel  du  Louvre  et  de 
la  Paix  at  Marseilles.  I  am  indifferent  to  the  facts 
that  it  is  situated  on  that  fine  thoroughfare,  the 
Rue  de  Cannebiere,  which  the  proud  and  untravelled 
native  devoutly  believes  to  be  the  finest  street  in 
the  world;  that  it  possesses  a  dining-room  of  gilded 
and  painted  repousse  work  so  elaborate  and  won- 
derful that  it  surely  must  be  intended  to  represent 
a  tinsmith's  dream  of  heaven;  that  its  concierge  is 
the  most  impressive  human  being  on  earth  except 
Ludwig  Von  Kampf,  whom  I  have  never  seen; 
that  its  head  waiter  is  sadder  and  more  elderly 
and  forgiving  than  any  other  head  waiter;  and  that 
its  hushed  and  cathedral  atmosphere  has  been 
undisturbed  through  immemorial  years.  That  is 
to  be  expected;  and  elsewhere  to  be  duplicated  in 
greater  or  lesser  degree.  Nor  in  the  lofty  courtyard, 
or  the  equally  lofty  halls  and  reading  rooms,  is  there 
ever  much  bustle  and  movement.  People  sit 
quietly,   or   move   with   circumspection.     Servants 

S 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

glide.  The  fall  of  a  book  or  teaspoon,  the  sudden 
closing  of  a  door,  are  events  to  be  remarked.  Once 
a  day,  however,  a  huge  gong  sounds,  the  glass  doors 
of  the  inner  courtyard  are  thrown  open  with  a 
flourish,  and  enter  the  huge  'bus  fairly  among  those 
peacefully  sitting  at  the  tables,  horses'  hoofs  striking 
fire,  long  lash  cracking  volleys,  wheels  roaring  amid 
hollow  reverberations.  From  the  interior  of  this 
'bus  emerge  people;  and  from  the  top,  by  means  of  a 
strangely  constructed  hooked  ladder,  are  descended 
boxes  and  trunks  and  appurtenances  of  various 
sorts.  In  these  people  and  in  these  boxes,  trunks, 
and  appurtenances  are  the  real  interest  of  the  Grand 
Hotel  du  Louvre  et  de  la  Paix  of  the  marvellous 
Rue  Cannebiere  of  Marseilles. 

For  at  Marseilles  land  ships,  many  ships,  from  all 
the  scattered  ends  of  the  earth;  and  from  Marseilles 
depart  trains  for  the  North,  where  is  home,  or  the 
way  home,  for  many  peoples.  And  since  the  arrival 
of  ships  is  uncertain,  and  the  departure  of  trains 
fixed,  it  follows  that  everybody  descends  for  a  little 
or  greater  period  at  the  Grand  Hotel  du  Louvre  et 
de  la  Paix. 

They  come  lean  and  quiet  and  a  little  yellow  from 
hard  climates,  with  the  names  of  strange  places  on 
their  lips,  and  they  speak  familiarly  of  far-oflF  things. 
Their  clothes  are  generally  of  ancient  cut,  and  the 

6 


THE  OPEN  DOOR 

wrinkles  and  camphor  aroma  of  a  long  packing 
away  are  yet  discernible.  Often  they  are  still 
wearing  sun  helmets  or  double  terai  hats  pending  a 
descent  on  a  Piccadilly  hatter  two  days  hence. 
They  move  slowly  and  languidly;  the  ordinary 
piercing  and  dominant  English  enunciation  has 
fallen  to  modulation;  their  eyes,  while  observant  and 
alert,  look  tired.  It  is  as  though  the  far  countries 
have  sucked  something  from  the  pith  of  them  in 
exchange  for  great  experiences  that  nevertheless 
seem  of  little  value;  as  though  these  men,  having  met 
at  last  face  to  face  the  ultimate  of  what  the  earth  has 
to  offer  in  the  way  of  danger,  hardship,  difficulty  and 
the  things  that  try  men's  souls,  having  unexpectedly 
found  them  all  to  fall  short  of  both  the  importance 
and  the  final  significance  with  which  human-kind 
has  always  invested  them,  were  now  just  a  little 
at  a  loss.  Therefore  they  stretch  their  long,  lean 
frames  in  the  wicker  chairs,  they  sip  the  long 
drinks  at  their  elbows,  puff  slowly  at  their  long,  lean 
cheroots,  and  talk  spasmodically  in  short  sentences. 

Of  quite  a  different  type  are  those  going  out  — 
young  fellows  full  of  northern  health  and  energy, 
full  of  the  eagerness  of  anticipation,  full  of  romance 
skilfully  concealed,  self-certain,  authoritative,  clear 
voiced.  Their  exit  from  the  'bus  Is  followed  by  a 
rain  of  Jiold-alls,  bags,  new  tin  boxes,  new  gun  cases, 

7 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

all  lettered  freshly  —  an  enormous  kit  doomed  to 
diminution.  They  overflow  the  place,  ebb  toward 
their  respective  rooms;  return  scrubbed  and  ruddy, 
correctly  clad,  correctly  unconscious  of  everybody 
else;  sink  into  more  wicker  chairs.  The  quiet  brown 
and  yellow  men  continue  to  puff  on  their  cheroots, 
quite  eclipsed.  After  a  time  one  of  them  picks  up 
his  battered  old  sun  helmet  and  goes  out  into  the 
street.  The  eyes  of  the  newcomers  follow  him. 
They  fall  silent;  and  their  eyes,  under  cover  of 
pulled  moustache,  furtively  glance  toward  the  lean 
man's  companions.  Then  on  that  office  falls  a 
great  silence,  broken  only  by  the  occasional  rare 
remarks  of  the  quiet  men  with  the  cheroots.  The 
youngsters  are  listening  with  all  their  ears,  though 
from  their  appearance  no  one  would  suspect  that 
fact.  Not  a  syllable  escapes  them.  These  quiet 
men  have  been  there,  they  have  seen  with  their  own 
eyes,  their  lightest  word  is  saturated  with  the 
mystery  and  romance  of  the  unknown.  Their  easy, 
matter-of-fact,  everyday  knowledge  is  richly  won- 
derful. It  would  seem  natural  for  these  young- 
young  men  to  question  these  old-young  men  of 
that  which  they  desire  so  ardently  to  know;  but 
that  isn't  done,  you  know.  So  they  sit  tight,  and 
pretend  they  are  not  listening,  and  feast  their  ears 
on     the    wonderful     syllables  —  Ankobur,     Kabul, 

8 


THE  OPEN  DOOR 

Peshawur,  Annam,  Nyassaland,  Kerman,  Serengetti, 
Tanganyika  and  many  others.  On  these  beautiful 
syllables  must  their  imaginations  feed,  for  that  which 
is  told  is  as  nothing  at  all.  Adventure  there  is  none, 
romance  there  is  none,  mention  of  high  emprise 
there  is  none.  Adventure,  romance,  high  emprise 
have  to  these  men  somehow  lost  their  importance. 
Perhaps  such  things  have  been  to  them  too  common 
—  as  well  mention  the  morning  egg.  Perhaps  they 
have  found  that  there  is  no  genuine  adventure,  no 
real  romance  except  over  the  edge  of  the  world  where 
the  rainbow  stoops. 

The  'bus  rattles  in  and  rattles  out  again.  It  takes 
the  fresh-faced  young  men  down  past  the  inner 
harbour  to  where  lie  the  tall  ships  waiting.  They 
and  their  cargo  of  exuberance,  of  hope,  of  energy, 
of  thirst  for  the  bubble  adventure,  the  rainbow 
romance,  sail  away  to  where  these  wares  have  a 
market.  And  the  quiet  men  glide  away  to  the  north. 
Their  wares  have  been  marketed.  The  sleepy, 
fierce,  passionate,  sunny  lands  have  taken  all  they 
had  to  bring.  And  have  given  in  exchange? 
Indifference,  ill-health,  a  profound  realization  that 
the  length  of  days  are  as  nothing  at  all,  a  supreme 
agnosticism  as  to  the  ultimate  value  of  anything 
that  a  single  man  can  do,  a  sublime  faith  that  it 
must  be  done,  the  power  to  concentrate,  patience 

9 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

illimitable,  contempt  for  danger,  disregard  of  death, 
the  intention  to  live,  a  final,  weary  estimate  of  the 
fact  that  mere  things  are  as  unimportant  here  as 
there,  no  matter  how  quaintly  or  fantastically  they 
are  dressed  or  named,  and  a  corresponding  emptiness 
of  anticipation  for  the  future  —  these  items  are  only 
a  random  few  of  the  price  given  by  the  ancient  lands 
for  that  which  the  northern  races  bring  to  them. 
What  other  alchemical  changes  have  been  wrought 
only  these  lean  and  weary  men  could  know  —  if  they 
dared  look  so  far  within  themselves.  And  even  if 
they  dared,  they  would  not  tell. 


xo 


II 

THE  FAREWELL 

WE  BOARDED  ship  filled  witn  a  great,  and 
what  seemed  to  us  an  unappeasable,  curiosity 
as  to  what  we  were  going  to  see.  It  was  not  a  very  big 
ship,  in  spite  of  the  grandiloquent  descriptions  in  the 
advertisements,  or  the  lithograph  wherein  she  cut 
grandly  and  evenly  through  huge  waves  to  the  mani- 
fest discomfiture  of  infinitesimal  sailing  craft  bobbing 
alongside.  She  was  manned  entirely  by  Germans. 
The  room  stewards  waited  at  table,  cleaned  the 
public  saloons,  kept  the  library,  rustled  the  baggage, 
and  played  in  the  band.  That  is  why  we  took  our 
music  between  meals.  Our  staterooms  were  very 
tiny  indeed.  Each  was  provided  with  an  electric 
fan;  a  totally  inadequate  and  rather  aggravating 
electric  fan  once  we  had  entered  the  Red  Sea.  Just 
at  this  moment  we  paid  it  little  attention,  for  we 
were  still  in  full  enjoyment  of  sunny  France  where, 
in  our  own  experience,  it  had  rained  two  months 
steadily.  Indeed,  at  this  moment  it  was  raining; 
raining  a  steady,  cold,  sodden  drizzle  that  had  not 

II 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

even  the  grace  to  pick  out  the  surface  of  the  harbour 
in  the  jolly  dancing  staccato  that  goes  far  to  lend 
attraction  to  a  genuinely  earnest  rainstorm. 

Down  the  long  quai  splashed  cabs  and  omnibuses, 
their  drivers  glistening  in  wet  capes,  to  discharge 
under  the  open  shed  at  the  end  various  hasty  indi- 
viduals who  marshalled  long  lines  of  porters  with 
astonishing  impedimenta  and  drove  them  up  the 
gangplank.  A  half-dozen  roughs  lounged  aimlessly. 
A  little  bent  old  woman  with  a  shawl  over  her  head 
searched  here  and  there.  Occasionally  she  would 
find  a  twisted  splinter  of  wood  torn  from  the  piles 
by  a  hawser,  or  gouged  from  the  planking  by  heavy 
freight,  or  kicked  from  the  floor  by  the  hoofs  of  horses. 
This  she  deposited  carefully  in  a  small  covered 
market  basket.  She  was  entirely  intent  on  this 
minute  and  rather  pathetic  task,  quite  unattending 
the  greatness  ^of  the  ship,  or  the  many  people  the 
great  hulk  swallowed  or  spat  forth. 

Near  us  against  the  rail  leaned  a  dark-haired 
young  Englishman  whom  later  every  man  on  that 
many-nationed  ship  came  to  recognize  and  to  avoid 
as  an  insufferable  bore.  Now,  however,  the  angel 
of  good  inspiration  stooped  to  him.  He  tossed  a 
copper  two-sou  piece  down  to  the  bent  old  woman. 
She  heard  the  clink  of  the  fall,  and  looked  up  bewil- 
dered.     One  of  the  waterside  roughs  slouched  for- 

12 


THE  FAREWELL 

ward.  The  Englishman  shouted  a  warning  and  a 
threat,  indicating  in  pantomime  for  whom  the  coin 
was  intended.  To  our  surprise  that  evil-looking 
wharf  rat  smiled  and  waved  his  hand  reassuringly; 
then  took  the  old  woman  by  the  arm  to  show  her 
where  the  coin  had  fallen.  She  hobbled  to  it  with 
a  haste  eloquent  of  the  horrible  Marseillaise  poverty- 
stricken  alleys,  picked  it  up  joyously,  turned  — 
and  with  a  delightful  grace  kissed  her  finger-tips 
toward  the  ship. 

Apparently  we  all  of  us  had  a  few  remaining 
French  coins;  and  certainly  we  were  all  grateful  to 
the  young  Englishman  for  his  happy  thought. 
The  sous  descended  as  fast  as  the  woman  could  get 
to  where  they  fell.  So  numerous  were  they  that 
she  had  no  time  to  express  her  gratitude  except  in 
broken  snatches  of  gesture.  In  interrupted  attitudes 
of  the  most  complete  thanksgiving.  The  day  of 
miracles  for  her  had  come;  and  from  the  humble 
poverty  that  valued  tiny  and  infrequent  splinters  of 
wood  she  had  suddenly  come  into  great  wealth. 
Everybody  was  laughing,  but  In  a  very  kindly  sort 
of  way,  it  seemed  to  me;  and  the  very  wharf  rats  and 
gamins,  wolfish  and  fierce  in  their  everyday  life  of 
the  waterfront,  seemed  to  take  a  genuine  pleasure 
in  pointing  out  to  her  the  resting  place  of  those  her 
dim  old  eyes  had  not  seen.     Silver  pieces  followed. 

13 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

These  were  too  wonderful.  She  grew  more  and  more 
excited,  until  several  of  the  passengers  leaning  over 
the  rail  began  to  murmur  warningly,  fearing  harm. 
After  picking  up  each  of  these  silver  pieces,  she 
bowed  and  gestured  very  gracefully,  waving  both 
hands  outward,  lifting  eyes  and  hands  to  heaven, 
kissing  her  fingers,  trying  by  every  means  in  her 
power  to  express  the  dazzling  wonder  and  joy  that 
this  unexpected  marvel  was  bringing  her.  When 
she  had  done  all  these  things  many  times,  she  hugged 
herself  ecstatically.  A  very  well-dressed  and  pros- 
perous-looking Frenchman  standing  near  seemed  to 
be  a  little  afraid  she  might  hug  him.  His  fear  had, 
perhaps,  some  grounds,  for  she  shook  hands  with 
everybody  all  around,  and  showed  them  her  wealth 
in  her  kerchief,  explaining  eagerly,  the  tears  running 
down  her  face. 

Now  the  gangplank  was  drawn  aboard,  and  the 
band  struck  up  the  usual  lively  air.  At  the  first 
notes  the  old  woman  executed  a  few  feeble  little  jig 
steps  in  sheer  exuberance.  Then  the  solemnity  of 
the  situation  sobered  her.  Her  great,  wealthy, 
powerful,  kind  friends  were  departing  on  their  long 
voyage  over  mysterious  seas.  Again  and  again, 
very  earnestly,  she  repeated  the  graceful,  slow 
pantomime  —  the  wave  of  the  arms  outward,  the  eyes 
raised  to  heaven,  the  hands  clasped  finally  over  her 

14 


THE  FAREWELL 

head.  As  the  brown  strip  of  water  silently  widened 
between  us  it  was  strangely  like  a  stage  scene  —  the 
roofed  sheds  of  the  quai,  the  motionless  groups,  the 
central  figure  of  the  old  woman  depicting  emotion. 

Suddenly  she  dropped  her  hands  and  hobbled 
away  at  a  great  rate,  disappearing  finally  into  the 
maze  of  the  street  beyond.  Concluding  that  she 
had  decided  to  get  quickly  home  with  her  great 
treasure,  we  commended  her  discretion  and  gave 
our  attention  to  other  things. 

The  drizzle  fell  uninterruptedly.  We  had  edged 
sidewise  the  requisite  distance,  and  were  now  gather- 
ing headway  in  our  long  voyage.  The  quai  was 
beginning  to  recede  and  to  diminish.  Back  from  the 
street  hastened  the  figure  of  the  little  old  woman. 
She  carried  a  large  white  cloth,  of  which  she  had 
evidently  been  in  quest.  This  she  unfolded  and 
waved  vigorously  with  both  hands.  Until  we  had 
passed  quite  from  sight  she  stood  there  signalling  her 
farewell.  Long  after  we  were  beyond  distinguishing 
her  figure  we  could  catch  the  flutter  of  white.  Thus 
that  ship's  company,  embarking  each  on  his  Great 
Adventure,  far  from  home  and  friends,  received  his 
farewell,  a  very  genuine  farewell,  from  one  poor  old 
woman.  B.  ventured  the  opinion  that  it  was  the 
best  thing  we  had  bought  with  our  French  money. 


IS 


Ill 

PORT  SAID 

THE  time  of  times  to  approach  Port  Said  is  just 
at  the  fall  of  dusk.  Then  the  sea  lies  in  opal- 
escent patches,  and  the  low  shores  fade  away  into 
the  gathering  night.  Slanting  masts  and  yards  of 
the  dhows  silhouette  against  a  sky  of  the  deepest 
translucent  green;  and  the  heroic  statue  of  De  Les- 
seps  standing  forever  at  the  Gateway  he  opened, 
points  always  to  the  mysterious  East. 

The  rhythmical,  accustomed  chug  of  the  engines 
had  fallen  to  quarter  speed,  leaving  an  uncanny 
stillness  throughout  the  ship.  Silently  we  slipped 
between  the  long  piers,  drew  up  on  the  waterside 
town,  seized  the  buoy,  and  came  to  rest.  All  around 
us  lay  other  ships  of  all  sizes,  motionless  on  the  inky 
water.  The  reflections  from  their  lights  seemed  to 
be  thrust  into  the  depths,  like  stilts;  and  the  few 
lights  from  the  town  reflected  shiveringly  across. 
Along  the  waterfront  all  was  dark  and  silent.  We 
caught  the  loom  of  buildings;  and  behind  them  a 
dull  glow  as  from  a  fire,  and  guessed  tall    minar- 

i6 


PORT  SAID 

ets,  and  heard  the  rising  and  falling  of  chanting. 
Numerous  small  boats  hovered  near,  floating  in  and 
out  of  the  patches  of  light  we  ourselves  cast,  waiting 
for  permission  to  swarm  at  the  gangplank  for  our 
patronage. 

We  went  ashore,  passed  through  a  wicket  gate,  and 
across  the  dark  buildings  to  the  heart  of  the  town, 
whence  came  the  dull  glow  and  the  sounds  of  people. 

Here  were  two  streets  running  across  one  another, 
both  brilliantly  lighted,  both  thronged,  both  lined 
with  little  shops.  In  the  latter  one  could  buy  any- 
thing, in  any  language,  with  any  money.  We 
saw  cheap  straw  hats  made  In  Germany  hung 
side  by  side  with  gorgeous  and  beautiful  stuffs  from 
the  orient;  shoddy  European  garments  and  Eastern 
jewels;  cheap  celluloid  combs  and  curious  em- 
broideries. The  crowd  of  passersby  in  the  streets 
were  compounded  in  the  same  curiously  mixed 
fashion;  a  few  Europeans,  generally  In  white,  and 
then  a  variety  of  Arabs,  Egyptians,  Somalis,  Berbers, 
East  Indians  and  the  like,  each  in  his  own  gaudy  or 
graceful  costume.  It  speaks  well  for  the  accuracy 
of  feeling,  anyway,  of  our  various  "Midways," 
Pikes,"  and  the  like  of  our  world's  expositions  that 
the  streets  of  Port  Said  looked  like  Midways  raised 
to  the  °th  power.  Along  them  we  sauntered  with 
a  pleasing  feeling  of  self-importance.     On  all  sides 

17 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

we  were  gently  and  humbly  besought  —  by  the  shop- 
keepers, by  the  sidewalk  vendors,  by  would-be 
guides,  by  fortune  tellers,  by  jugglers,  by  magicians; 
all  soft-voiced  and  respectful;  all  yielding  as  water 
to  rebuff,  but  as  quick  as  water  to  glide  back  again. 
The  vendors  were  of  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  and 
were  heavily  hung  with  long  necklaces  of  coral 
or  amber,  with  scarves,  with  strings  of  silver  coins, 
with  sequinned  veils  and  silks,  girt  with  many  dirks 
and  knives,  furnished  out  in  concealed  pockets  with 
scarabs,  bracelets,  sandal-wood  boxes  or  anything 
else  under  the  broad  canopy  of  heaven  one  might 
or  might  not  desire.  Their  voices  were  soft  and 
pleasing,  their  eyes  had  the  beseeching  quality  of  a 
good  dog's,  their  anxious  and  deprecating  faces  were 
ready  at  the  slightest  encouragement  to  break  out 
into  the  friendliest  and  most  intimate  of  smiles. 
Wherever  we  went  we  were  accompanied  by  a  retinue 
straight  out  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  patiently  await- 
ing the  moment  when  we  should  tire;  should  seek 
out  the  table  of  a  sidewalk  cafe;  and  should,  in  our 
relaxed  mood,  be  ready  to  unbend  to  our  royal 
purchases. 

At  that  moment  we  were  too  much  interested  in 
the  town  itself.  T  e  tiny  shops  with  their  smil- 
ing and  insinuating  oriental  keepers  were  fascinat- 
ing in  their  displays  of  carved   woods,  jewellery, 

i8 


PORT  SAID 

perfumes,  silks,  tapestries,  silversmith's  work,  os- 
trich feathers  and  the  like.  Either  side  the  main 
street  lay  long,  narrow,  dark  alleys  in  which  flared 
single  lights,  across  which  flitted  mysterious,  long, 
robed  figures,  from  which  floated  stray  snatches  of 
music  either  palpitatingly  barbaric  or  ridiculously 
modern.  There  the  authority  of  the  straight  sol- 
dierly looking  Soudanese  policemen  ceased;  and  it 
was  not  safe  to  wander  unarmed  or  alone. 

Besides  these  motley  variegations  of  the  East  and 
West,  the  main  feature  of  the  town  was  the  street 
car.  It  was  an  open-air  structure  of  spacious 
dimensions,  as  though  benches  and  a  canopy  had 
been  erected  rather  haphazard  on  a  small  dancing 
platform.  The  track  is  absurdly  narrow  in  gauge; 
and  as  a  consequence  the  edifice  swayed  and  swung 
from  side  to  side.  A  single  mule  was  attached  to  it 
loosely  by  about  ten  feet  of  rope.  It  was  driven 
by  a  gaudy  ragamuffin  in  a  turban.  Various  other 
gaudy  ragamuffins  lounged  largely  and  picturesquely 
on  the  widely  spaced  benches.  Whence  it  came  or 
whither  it  went  I  do  not  know.  Its  orbit  swung 
into  the  main  street,  turned  a  corner  and  disap- 
peared. Apparently  Europeans  did  not  patronize 
this  picturesque  wreck,  but  drove  elegantly  but 
mysteriously  in  small  open  cabs  conducted  by  to- 
tally incongruous  turbaned  drivers. 

19 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  ended  finally  at  an  imposing  corner  hotel 
where  we  dined  by  an  open  window  just  above  the 
level  of  the  street.  A  dozen  upturned  faces  besought 
us  silently  during  the  meal.  At  a  glance  of  even 
the  mildest  interest  a  dozen  long,  brown  arms  thrust 
the  spoils  of  the  East  upon  our  consideration.  With 
us  sat  a  large  benign  Swedish  professor  whose  erudi- 
tion was  encyclopaedic,  but  whose  kindly  humanity 
was  greater.  Uttering  deep,  cavernous  chuckles  the 
Professor  bargained.  A  red  coral  necklace  for  the 
moment  was  the  matter  of  interest.  The  Professor 
inspected  it  carefully,  and  handed  it  back. 

"I  doubt  if  id  iss  coral,"  said  he  simply. 

The  present  owner  of  the  beads  went  frantic  with 
rapid-fire  proof  and  vociferation.  With  the  swift- 
ness and  precision  of  much  repetition  he  fished  out 
a  match,  struck  it,  applied  the  flame  to  the  alleged 
coral,  and  blew  out  the  match;  cast  the  necklace 
on  the  pavement,  produced  mysteriously  a  small 
hammer,  and  with  it  proceeded  madly  to  pound 
the  beads.  Evidently  he  was  accustomed  to  being 
doubted,  and  carried  his  materials  for  proof  around 
with  him.  Then,  in  one  motion,  the  hammer  dis- 
appeared; the  beads  were  snatched  up,  and  again 
offered,  unharmed,  for  inspection. 

"Are  those  good  tests  for  genuineness.?"  we  asked 
the  Professor,  aside. 

20 


PORT  SAID 

"As  to  that,"  he  replied  regretfully,  "  I  do  not 
know.  I  know  of  coral  only  that  is  the  hard  cal- 
careous skeleton  of  the  marine  coelenterate  polyps; 
and  that  this  red  coral  iss  called  of  a  sclerobasic 
group;  and  other  facts  of  the  kind;  but  I  do  not  know 
if  it  iss  supposed  to  resist  impact  and  heat.  Pos- 
sibly," he  ended  shrewdly,  "it  is  the  common  imita- 
tion which  does  not  resist  impact  and  heat.  At  any 
rate  they  are  pretty.  How  much?"  he  demanded 
of  the  vendor,  a  bright-eyed  Egyptian  waiting  pa- 
tiently until  our  conference  should  cease. 

"Twenty  shillings,"  he  replied  promptly. 

The  Professor  shook  with  one  of  his  cavernous 
chuckles. 

"Too  much,"  he  observed,  and  handed  the  neck- 
lace back  through  the  window. 

The  Egyptian  would  by  no  means  receive  it. 

"Keep!  keep!"  he  implored,  thrusting  the  mass 
of  red  upon  the  Professor  with  both  hands.  "How 
much  you  give?" 

"One  shilling,"  announced  the  Professor  firmly. 

The  coral  necklace  lay  on  the  edge  of  the  table 
throughout  most  of  our  leisurely  meal.  The  vendor 
argued,  pleaded,  gave  it  up,  disappeared  in  the 
crowd,  returned  dramatically  after  an  interval. 
The  Professor  ate  calmly,  chuckled  much,  and  from 
time    to    time    repeated    firmly    the    words,    "One 

21 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

shilling."  Finally,  at  the  cheese,  he  reached  out, 
swept  the  coral  into  his  pocket,  and  laid  down  two 
shillings.  The  Egyptian  deftly  gathered  the  coin, 
smiled  cheerfully,  and  produced  a  glittering  veil 
in  which  he  tried  in  vain  to  enlist  Billy's  interest. 

For  coffee  and  cigars  we  moved  to  the  terrace 
outside.  Here  an  orchestra  played,  the  peoples 
of  many  nations  sat  at  little  tables,  the  peddlers, 
fakirs,  jugglers,  and  fortune  tellers  swarmed.  A  half 
dozen  postal  cards  seemed  sufficient  to  set  a  small 
boy  up  in  trade,  and  to  imbue  him  with  all  the  impor- 
tance and  insistence  of  a  merchant  with  jewels. 
Other  ten-year-old  ragamuffins  tried  to  call  our 
attention  to  some  sort  of  sleight-of-hand  with  poor 
downy  little  chickens.  Grave  turbaned  and  polite 
Indians  squatted  crosslegged  at  our  feet  begging  to 
give  us  a  look  into  the  future  by  means  of  the  only 
genuine  hallmarked  Yogism;  a  troupe  of  acrobats 
went  energetically  and  hopefully  through  quite  a 
meritorious  performance  a  few  feet  away;  a  deftly 
triumphant  juggler  did  very  easily,  and  directly 
beneath  our  watchful  eyes,  some  really  wonderful 
tricks.  A  butterfly-gorgeous  swarm  of  insinuating 
smiling  peddlers  of  small  things  dangled  and  spread 
their  wares  where  they  thought  themselves  most 
sure  of  attention.  Beyond  our  own  little  group  we 
saw  slowly  passing  in  the  lighted  street  outside  the 

22 


yfi^-- 


.'*■'"'?■ 


*' Camels  laden  with  stone  and  in  convoy  of  white-clad 
figures  shuffled  down  the  slope  at  a  picturesque  angle" 


— »t         •^n 

"^ 

]i^^  j^^^^H 

^  .^.^  ^ 

i^ 

.-     A 

PORT  SAID 

portico  the  variegated  and  picturesque  loungers. 
Across  the  way  a  phonograph  bawled;  our  stringed 
orchestra  played  "The  Dollar  Princess";  from  some- 
where over  in  the  dark  and  mysterious  alleyways 
came  the  regular  beating  of  a  tom-tom.  The  mag- 
nificent and  picturesque  town  car  with  its  gaudy  raga- 
muffins swayed  by  in  train  of  its  diminutive  mule. 

Suddenly  our  persistent  and  amusing  entourage 
vanished  in  all  directions.  Standing  idly  at  the 
portico  was  a  very  straight,  black  Soudanese.  On 
his  head  was  the  usual  red  fez;  his  clothing  was  of 
trim  khaki;  his  knees  and  feet  were  bare,  with  blue 
puttees  between;  and  around  his  middle  was  drawn 
close  and  smooth  a  blood-red  sash  at  least  a  foot 
and  a  half  in  breadth.  He  made  a  fine  upstanding 
Egyptian  figure,  and  was  armed  with  pride,  a  short 
sheathed  club,  and  a  great  scorn.  No  word  spoke  he, 
nor  command;  but  merely  jerked  a  thumb  toward  the 
darkness,  and  into  the  darkness  our  many-hued  horde 
melted  away.    We  were  left  feeling  rather  lonesome ! 

Near  midnight  we  sauntered  down  the  street  to 
the  quai,  whence  we  were  rowed  to  the  ship  by 
another  turbaned,  long-robed  figure  who  sweetly 
begged  just  a  copper  or  so  "for  poor  boatman. " 

We  found  the  ship  in  the  process  of  coaling,  every 
porthole  and  doorway  closed,  and  heavy  canvas 
hung  to  protect  as  far  as  possible  the  clean  decks. 

23 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Two  barges  were  moored  alongside.  Two  blazing 
braziers  lighted  them  with  weird  red  and  flickering 
flames.  In  their  depths,  cast  in  black  and  red 
shadows,  toiled  half-guessed  figures;  from  their 
depths,  mounting  a  single  steep  plank,  came  an 
unbroken  procession  of  natives,  naked  save  for  a 
wisp  of  cloth  around  the  loins.  They  trod  closely 
on  each  other's  heels,  carrying  each  his  basket  atop 
his  head  or  on  one  shoulder,  mounted  a  gangplank, 
discharged  their  loads  into  the  side  of  the  ship,  and 
descended  again  to  the  depths  by  way  of  another 
plank.  The  lights  flickered  across  their  dark  faces, 
their  gleaming  teeth  and  eyes.  Somehow  the  work 
demanded  a  heap  of  screeching,  shouting,  and  gestic- 
ulation; but  somehow  also  it  went  forward  rapidly. 
Dozens  of  unattached  natives  lounged  about  the 
gunwales  with  apparently  nothing  to  do  but  to  look 
picturesque.  Shore  boats  moved  into  the  narrow 
circle  of  light,  drifted  to  our  gangway  and  dis- 
charged huge  crates  of  vegetables,  sacks  of  unknown 
stuffs,  and  returning  passengers.  A  vigilant  police 
boat  hovered  near  to  settle  disputes,  generally  with 
the  blade  of  an  oar.  For  a  long  time  we  leaned  over 
the  rail  watching  them,  and  the  various  reflected 
lights  in  the  water,  and  the  very  clear,  unwavering 
stars.  Then,  the  coaling  finished,  and  the  portholes 
once  more  opened,  we  turned  in. 

24 


IV 

SUEZ 

SOMETIME  during  the  night  we  must  have 
started,  but  so  gently  had  we  slid  along  at 
fractional  speed  that  until  I  raised  my  head  and 
looked  out  I  had  not  realized  the  fact.  I  saw  a  high 
sand  bank.  This  glided  monotonously  by  until  I 
grew  tired  of  looking  at  it;  and  got  up. 

After  breakfast,  however,  I  found  that  the  sand 
bank  had  various  attractions  all  of  its  own.  Three 
camels  laden  with  stone  and  in  convoy  of  white-clad 
figures  shuffled  down  the  slope  at  a  picturesque 
angle.  Two  cowled  women  in  black,  veiled  to  the 
eyes  in  gauze  heavily  sewn  with  sequins,  barefooted, 
with  massive  silver  anklets,  watched  us  pass. 
Hindoo  workmen  in  turban  and  loin  cloth  furnished 
a  picturesque  note,  but  did  not  seem  to  be  injuring 
themselves  by  overexertion.  Naked  small  boys 
raced  us  for  a  short  distance.  The  banks  glided  by 
very  slowly  and  very  evenly,  the  wash  sucked  after 
us  like  water  in  a  slough  after  a  duck  boat,  and  the 
sky  above  the  yellow  sand  looked  extremely  blue. 

25 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

At  short  and  regular  intervals,  halfway  up  the 
minature  sandhills,  heavy  piles  or  snubbing  posts 
had  been  planted.  For  these  we  at  first  could  guess 
no  reason.  Soon,  however,  we  had  to  pass  another 
ship;  and  then  we  saw  that  one  of  us  must  tie  up  to 
avoid  being  drawn  irresistibly  by  suction  into 
collision  with  the  other.  The  craft  sidled  by, 
separated  by  only  a  few  feet;  so  that  we  could  look 
across  to  each  other's  decks,  and  exchange  greeting. 
As  the  day  grew  this  interest  grew  likewise. 
Dredgers  in  the  canal;  rusty  tramps  flying  unfamiliar 
flags  of  strange  tiny  countries;  big  freighters,  often 
with  Greek  or  Turkish  characters  on  their  sterns; 
small,  dirty  steamers  of  suspicious  business;  passenger 
ships  like  our  own,  returning  from  the  tropics,  with 
white-clad,  languid  figures  reclining  in  canvas  chairs; 
gunboats  of  this  or  that  nation  bound  on  mysterious 
affairs;  once  a  P.  &.  O.  converted  into  a  troopship 
from  whose  every  available  porthole,  hatch,  deck, 
and  shroud  laughing,  brown,  English  faces  shouted 
chaff  at  our  German  decks  —  all  these  either  tied 
up  for  us,  or  were  tied  up  for  by  us.  The  only  craft 
that  received  no  consideration  on  our  part  were  the 
various  picturesque  Arab  dhows,  with  their  single 
masts  and  the  long  yards  slanting  across  them. 
Since  these  were  very  small,  our  suction  dragged 
at  them  cruelly.     As  a  usual  thing  four  vociferous 

26 


I 

P 


1 


SUEZ 

figures  clung  desperately  to  a  rope  passed  around  one 
of  the  snubbing  posts  ashore,  while  an  old  man 
shrieked  syllables  at  them  from  the  dhow  itself. 
As  they  never  by  any  chance  thought  of  mooring 
her  both  stem  and  stern,  the  dhow  generally  changed 
ends  rapidly,  shipping  considerable  water  in  the  proc- 
ess. It  must  be  very  trying  to  get  so  excited  in  a 
hot  climate. 

The  high  sand  banks  of  the  early  part  of  the  day 
soon  dropped  lower  to  afford  us  a  wider  view.  In  its 
broad,  general  features  the  country  was, quite  simply, 
the  best  desert  of  Arizona  over  again.  There  were 
the  same  high,  distant  and  brittle-looking  mountains, 
fragile  and  pearly;  the  same  low,  broken  half- 
distances;  the  same  wide  sweeps;  the  same  wonderful 
changing  effects  of  light,  colour,  shadow,  and  mirage; 
the  same  occasional  strips  of  green  marking  the 
water  courses  and  oases.  As  to  smaller  detail  we 
saw  many  interesting  divergences.  In  the  fore- 
ground constantly  recurred  the  Bedouin  brush 
shelters,  each  with  its  picturesque  figure  or  so  of 
flowing  robes,  and  its  grumpy  camels.  Twice  we 
saw  travelling  caravans,  exactly  like  the  Bible 
pictures.  At  one  place  a  single  burnoused  Arab, 
leaning  on  his  elbows,  reclined  full  length  on  the  sky- 
line of  a  clean-cut  sand  hill.  Glittering  in  the  mirage, 
half-guessed,  half-seen,  we  made  out  distant  little 

27 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

white  towns  with  slender  palm  trees.  At  places  the 
water  from  the  canal  had  overflowed  wide  tracts  of 
country.  Here  along  the  shore  we  saw  thousands  of 
the  water-fowl  already  familiar  to  us,  as  well  as 
such  strangers  as  gaudy  kingfishers,  ibises,  and  rosy 
flamingoes. 

The  canal  itself  seemed  to  be  in  a  continual  state 
of  repair.  Dredgers  were  everywhere;  some  of  the 
ordinary  shovel  type,  others  working  by  suction,  and 
discharging  far  inland  by  means  of  weird  huge  pipes 
that  apparently  meandered  at  will  over  the  face  of 
nature.  The  control  stations  were  beautifully 
French  and  neat,  painted  yellow,  each  with  its 
gorgeous  bougainvilleas  in  flower,  its  square-rigged 
signal  masts,  its  brightly  painted  extra  buoys  stand- 
ing in  a  row,  its  wharf  —  and  its  impassive  Arab 
fishermen  thereon.  We  reclined  in  our  canvas  chairs, 
had  lime  squashes  brought  to  us,  and  watched  the 
entertainment  steadily  and  slowly  unrolled  before  us. 

We  reached  the  end  of  the  canal  about  three 
o'clock  of  the  afternoon,  and  dropped  anchor  far  off" 
low-lying  shores.  Our  binoculars  showed  us  white 
houses  in  apparently  single  rank  along  a  far-reaching 
narrow  sand  spit,  with  sparse  trees  and  a  railroad 
line.  That  was  the  town  of  Suez,  and  seemed  so 
little  interesting  that  we  were  not  particularly  sorry 
that  we  could  not  go  ashore.     Far  in  the  distance 

28 


SUEZ 

were  mountains;  and  the  water  all  about  us  was  the 
light,  clear  green  of  the  sky  at  sunset. 

Innumerable  dhows  and  rowboats  swarmed  down, 
filled  with  eager  salesmen  of  curios  and  ostrich 
plumes.  They  had  not  much  time  In  which  to 
bargain,  so  they  made  it  up  In  rapid-fire  vociferation. 
One  very  tall  and  dignified  Arab  had  as  sailor  of  his 
craft  the  most  extraordinary  creature,  just  above 
the  lower  limit  of  the  human  race.  He  was  of  a  dull 
coal  black,  without  a  single  high  light  on  him  any- 
where, as  though  he  had  been  sanded;  had  prominent 
teeth,  like  those  of  a  baboon,  In  a  wrinkled,  wizened 
monkey  face  across  which  were  three  tattooed  bands; 
and  possessed  a  little  long-armed  spare  figure,  bent 
and  wiry.  He  clambered  up  and  down  his  mast, 
fetching  things  at  his  master's  behest;  leaped  non- 
chalantly for  our  rail  or  his  own  spar,  as  the  case 
might  be,  across  the  staggering  abyss;  clung  so  well 
with  his  toes  that  he  might  almost  have  been  classi- 
fied with  the  quadrumana;  and  between  times 
squatted  humped  over  on  the  rail  watching  us  with 
bright,  elfish,  alien  eyes. 

At  last  the  big  German  sailors  bundled  the  whole 
variegated  horde  overside.  It  was  time  to  go;  and 
our  anchor  chain  was  already  rumbling  in  the  hawse 
pipes.  They  tumbled  hastily  into  their  boats;  and 
at  once  swarmed  up  their  masts,  whence  they  fever- 

29 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

ishly  continued  their  Interrupted  bargaining.  In 
fact  so  fully  embarked  on  the  tides  of  commerce 
were  they  that  they  failed  to  notice  the  tides  of 
nature  widening  between  us.  One  old  man,  In 
especial,  at  the  very  top  of  his  mast,  jerked  hither 
and  thither  by  the  sea,  continued  imploringly  to 
offer  an  utterly  ridiculous  carved  wooden  camel 
long  after  It  was  possible  to  have  completed  the 
transaction  should  anybody  have  been  moonstruck 
enough  to  have  desired  it.  Our  ship's  prow  swung; 
and  just  at  sunset,  as  the  lights  of  Suez  were  twin- 
kling out  one  by  one,  we  headed  down  the  Red  Sea. 


30 


V 

THE  RED  SEA 

SUEZ  is  Indeed  the  gateway  to  the  East.  In  the 
Mediterranean  often  the  sea  is  rough,  the 
winds  cold,  passengers  are  not  yet  acquainted  and 
hug  the  saloons  or  the  leeward  side  of  the  deck. 
Once  through  the  canal  and  all  is  changed  by  magic. 
The  air  is  hot  and  languid;  the  ship's  company  down 
to  the  very  scullions  appear  in  immaculate  white; 
the  saloon  chairs  and  transoms  even  are  put  in 
white  coverings;  electric  fans  hum  everywhere; 
the  run  on  lime  squashes  begins;  and  many  quaint 
and  curious  customs  of  the  tropics  obtain. 

For  example;  it  is  etiquette  that  before  eight 
o'clock  one  may  wander  the  decks  at  will  in  one's 
pajamas,  converse  affably  with  fair  ladies  in  pigtail 
and  kimono,  and  be  not  abashed.  But  on  the  stroke 
of  eight  bells  it  is  also  etiquette  to  disappear  very 
promptly  and  to  array  one's  self  for  the  day;  and  it  is 
very  improper  indeed  to  see  or  be  seen  after  that 
hour  in  the  rather  extreme  negligee  of  the  early 
morning.     Also  it  becomes  the  universal  custom,  or 

31 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

perhaps  I  should  say  the  necessity,  to  slumber  for 
an  hour  after  the  noon  meal.  Certainly  sleep 
descending  on  the  tropical  traveller  is  armed  with 
a  bludgeon.  Passengers,  crew,  steerage,  "deck," 
animal,  and  bird  fall  down  then  in  an  enchantment. 
I  have  often  wondered  who  navigates  the  ship  during 
that  sacred  hour;  or,  indeed,  if  anybody  navigates 
it  at  all.  Perhaps  that  time  is  sacred  to  the  genii 
of  the  old  East,  who  close  all  prying  mortal  eyes,  but 
in  return  lend  a  guiding  hand  to  the  most  pressing 
of  mortal  affairs.  The  deck  of  the  ship  is  a  curious 
sight  between  the  hours  of  half-past  one  and  three. 
The  tropical  siesta  requires  no  couching  of  the  form. 
You  sit  down  in  your  chair,  with  a  book  —  you  fade 
slowly  into  a  deep,  restful  slumber.  And  yet  it  is  a 
slumber  wherein  certain  small  pleasant  things  persist 
from  the  world  outside.  You  remain  dimly  conscious 
of  the  rhythmic  throbbing  of  the  engines,  of  the  beat 
of  soft,  warm  air  on  your  cheek. 

At  three  o'clock  or  thereabout  you  rise  as  gently 
back  to  life;  and  sit  erect  in  your  chair  without  a 
stretch  or  a  yawn  in  your  whole  anatomy.  Then 
is  the  one  time  of  day  for  a  display  of  energy  —  if 
you  have  any  to  display.  Ship  games,  walks  — 
fairly  brisk  —  explorations  to  the  forecastle,  a 
watch  for  flying  fish  or  Arab  dhows,  anything  until 
tea  time.     Then  the  glowing  sunset;  the  opalescent 

32 


THE  RED  SEA 

sea,  and  the  soft  afterglow  of  the  sky  —  and  the 
bugle  summoning  you  to  dress.  That  is  a  mean 
job.  Nothing  could  possibly  swelter  worse  than 
the  tiny  cabin.  The  electric  fan  is  an  aggravation. 
You  reappear  in  your  fresh  "whites"  somewhat 
warm  and  flustered  in  both  mind  and  body.  A  turn 
around  the  deck  cools  you  off;  and  dinner  restores 
your  equanimity  —  dinner  with  the  soft,  warm 
tropic  air  breathing  through  all  the  wide-open  ports; 
the  electric  fans  drumming  busily;  the  men  all  in 
clean  white;  the  ladies,  the  very  few  precious  ladies, 
in  soft,  low  gowns.  After  dinner  the  deck,  as  near 
cool  as  it  will  be,  and  bare  heads  to  the  breeze  of  our 
progress  and  glowing  cigars.  At  ten  or  eleven 
o'clock  the  groups  begin  to  break  up,  the  canvas 
chairs  to  empty.  Soon  reappears  a  pajamaed  figure 
followed  by  a  steward  carrying  a  mattress.  This  is 
spread,  under  its  owner's  direction,  in  a  dark  corner 
forward.  With  a  sigh  you  in  your  turn  plunge  down 
into  the  sweltering  inferno  of  your  cabin,  only  to 
reappear  likewise  with  a  steward  and  a  mattress. 
The  latter,  if  you  are  wise,  you  spread  where  the 
wind  of  the  ship's  going  will  be  full  upon  you.  It  is 
a  strong  wind  and  blows  upon  you  heavily  so  that 
the  sleeves  and  legs  of  your  pajamas  flop,  but  it  is  a 
soft,  warm  wind,  and  beats  you  as  with  muffled 
fingers.     In  no  temperate  clime  can  you  ever  enjoy 

33 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

this  peculiar  effect,  of  a  strong  breeze  on  your  naked 
skinwithout  even  the  faintest  surface  chlllysensatlon. 
So  habituated  has  one  become  to  feeling  cooler  in  a 
draught  that  the  absence  of  chill  lends  the  night  an 
unaccustomedness,  the  more  weird  in  that  it  is 
unanalyzed,  so  that  one  feels  definitely  that  one  is 
in  a  strange,  far  country.  This  is  intensified  by  the 
fact  that  in  these  latitudes  the  moon,  the  great, 
glorious,  calm  tropical  moon,  is  directly  overhead  — 
follows  the  centre  line  of  the  zenith  —  instead  of, 
as  with  us  in  our  temperate  zone,  always  more  or 
less  declined  to  the  horizon.  This  too  lends  the 
night  an  exotic  quality,  the  more  effective  in  that  at 
first  the  reason  for  It  is  not  apprehended. 

A  night  in  the  tropics  is  always  more  or  less 
broken.  One  awakens,  and  sleeps  again.  Motion- 
less white-clad  figures,  cigarettes  glowing,  are 
lounging  against  the  rail  looking  out  over  a  molten 
sea.  The  moonlight  lies  in  patterns  across  the  deck, 
shivering  slightly  under  the  throb  of  the  engines,  or 
occasionally  swaying  slowly  forward  or  slowly  back 
as  the  ship'scourse  changes,  but  otherwise  motionless, 
for  here  the  sea  is  always  calm.  You  raise  your  head, 
look  about,  sprawl  in  a  new  position  on  your  mattress, 
fall  asleep.  On  one  of  these  occasions  you  find 
unexpectedly  that  the  velvet-gray  night  has  become 
steel-gray  dawn;  and  that   the  kindly  old  quarter- 

14 


THE  RED  SEA 

master  is  bending  over  you.  Sleepily, very  sleepily, 
you  stagger  to  your  feet  and  collapse  into  the  nearest 
chair.  Then  to  the  swish  of  waters  as  the  sailors 
sluice  the  decks  all  around  and  under  you,  you  fall 
into  a  really  deep  sleep. 

At  six  o'clock  this  is  broken  by  chota-hahzari, 
another  tropical  institution,  consisting  merely  of 
clear  tea  and  crackers.  I  never  could  get  to  care 
for  it,  but  nowhere  in  the  tropics  could  I  head  it  off. 
No  matter  how  tired  I  was  or  how  dead  sleepy,  I  had 
to  receive  that  confounded  chota-hahzari.  Throwing 
things  at  the  native  who  brought  it  did  no  good  at 
all.  He  merely  dodged.  Admonition  did  no  good, 
nor  prohibition  in  strong  terms.  I  was  but  one 
white  man  of  the  whole  white  race;  and  I  had  no 
right  to  possess  idiosyncrasies  running  counter  to 
Distauri,  the  Custom.  However,  as  the  early  hours 
are  the  profitable  hours  in  the  tropics,  it  did  not 
drive  me  to  homicide. 

The  ship's  company  now  developed.  Our  two 
prize  members  fortunately  for  us,  sat  at  our  table. 
The  first  was  the  Swedish  Professor  aforementioned. 
He  was  large,  benign,  paternal,  broad  in  mind, 
thoroughly  human  and  beloved,  and  yet  profoundly 
erudite.  He  was  our  iconoclast  in  the  way  of  food; 
for  he  performed  small  but  illuminating  dissections 
on  his  plate,  and  announced  triumphantly  results 

35 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

that  were  not  a  bit  in  accordance  with  the  menu. 
A  single  bone  was  sufficient  to  take  the  pretension  out 
of  any  fish.  Our  other  particular  friend  was  C, 
with  whom  later  we  travelled  in  the  interior  of 
Africa.  C.  is  a  very  celebrated  hunter  and  explorer, 
an  old  Africander,  his  face  seamed  and  tanned  by 
many  years  in  a  hard  climate.  For  several  days 
we  did  not  recognize  him,  although  he  sat  fairly 
alongside;  but  put  him  down  as  a  shy  man  and  let 
it  go  at  that.  He  never  stayed  for  the  long  table 
d'hote  dinners;  but  fell  upon  the  first  solid  course 
and  made  a  complete  meal  from  that.  When  he  had 
quite  finished  eating  all  he  could;  he  drank  all  he 
could;  then  he  departed  from  the  table,  and  took 
up  a  remote  and  inaccessible  position  in  the  corner 
of  the  smoking  room.  He  was  engaged  in  growing 
the  beard  he  customarily  wore  in  the  jungle;  a  most 
fierce  outstanding  Mohammedan-looking  beard  that 
terrified  the  intrusive  into  submission.  And  yet 
Bwana  C.  possessed  the  kindest  blue  eyes  in  the 
world,  full  of  quiet  patience,  great  understanding 
and  infinite  gentleness.  His  manner  was  abrupt  and 
uncompromising;  but  he  would  do  anything  in  the 
world  for  one  who  stood  in  need  of  him.  From 
women  he  fled;  yet  Billy  won  him  with  infinite 
patience,  and  in  the  event  they  became  the  closest 
of  friends.     Withal  he  possessed  a  pair  of  the  most 

36 


THE  RED  SEA 

powerful  shoulders  I  have  ever  seen  on  a  man  of  his 
frame;  and  in  the  depths  of  his  mild  blue  eyes 
flickered  a  flame  of  resolution  that  I  could  well 
imagine  flaring  up  to  something  formidable.  Slow 
to  make  friends,  but  staunch  and  loyal;  gentle  and 
forbearing,  but  fierce  and  implacable  in  action;  at 
once  loved  and  most  terribly  feared;  shy  as  a  wild 
animal,  but  straightforward  and  undeviating  in 
his  human  relations;  most  remarkably  quiet  and 
unassuming,  but  with  tremendous  vital  force  in  his 
deep  eyes  and  forward-thrust  jaw;  informed  with  the 
widest  and  most  understanding  humanity,  but 
unforgiving  of  evildoers;  and  with  the  most  direct 
and  absolute  courage,  Bwana  C.  was  to  me  the  most 
interesting  man  I  met  in  Africa,  and  became  the 
best  of  my  friends. 

The  only  other  man  at  our  table  happened  to  be, 
for  our  sins,  the  young  Englishman  mentioned  as 
throwing  the  first  coin  to  the  old  woman  on  the  pier 
at  Marseilles.  We  will  call  him  Brown;  and, 
because  he  represents  a  type,  he  is  worth  looking 
upon  for  a  moment. 

He  was  of  the  super-enthusiastic  sort;  bubbling 
over  with  vitality;  in  and  out  of  everything;  bounding 
up  at  odd  and  languid  moments.  To  an  extra- 
ordinary extent  he  was  afflicted  with  the  spiritual 
blindness    of    his    class.     Quite    genuinely,    quite 

37 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

seriously,  he  was  unconscious  of  the  human  signifi- 
cance of  beings  and  institutions  belonging  to  a 
foreign  country  or  even  to  a  class  other  than  his  own. 
His  own  kind  he  treated  as  complete  and  under- 
standable human  creatures.  All  others  were  merely 
objective.  As  we,  to  a  certain  extent,  happened  to 
fall  in  the  former  category,  he  was  as  pleasant  to  us 
as  possible  —  that  is,  he  was  pleasant  to  us  in  his 
way,  but  had  not  insight  enough  to  guess  at  how  to 
be  pleasant  to  us  in  our  way.  But  as  soon  as  he  got 
out  of  his  own  class,  or  what  he  conceived  to  be  such, 
he  considered  all  people  as  "outsiders. "  He  did  not 
credit  them  with  prejudices  to  rub,  with  feelings  to 
hurt,  indeed  hardly  with  ears  to  overhear.  Provided 
his  subject  was  an  "outsider"  he  had  not  the 
slightest  hesitancy  in  saying  exactly  what  he  thought 
about  any  one,  anywhere,  always  in  his  high,  clear 
English  voice,  no  matter  what  the  time  or  occasion. 
As  a  natural  corollary  he  always  rebuffed  beggars 
and  the  like  brutally;  and  was  always  quite  sublimely 
doing  little  things  that  thoroughly  shocked  our  sense 
of  the  other  fellow's  rights  as  a  human  being.  In  all 
this  he  did  not  mean  to  be  cruel  nor  inconsiderate. 
It  was  just  the  way  he  was  built;  and  it  never 
entered  his  head  that  "such  people"  had  ears  and 
brains. 

In  the  rest  of  the  ship's  company  were  a  dozen  or 

38 


THE  RED  SEA 

so  other  Englishmen  of  the  upper  classes,  either 
army  men  on  shooting  trips,  or  youths  going  out 
with  some  idea  of  settling  in  the  country.  They 
were  a  clean-built  pleasant  lot,  good  people  to  know 
anywhere;  but  of  no  unusual  interest.  It  was  only 
when  one  went  abroad  into  the  other  nations  that 
inscribable  human  interest  could  be  found. 

There  was  the  Greek,  Scutari,  and  his  bride,  a 
languorous  rather  opulent  beauty,  with  large  dark 
eyes  for  all  men,  and  a  luxurious  manner  of  lying 
back  and  fanning  herself.  She  talked,  soft  voiced, 
in  half  a  dozen  languages,  changing  from  one  to  the 
other  without  a  break  In  either  her  fluency  or  her 
thought.  Her  little  lithe  active  husband  sat  around 
and  adored  her.  He  was  apparently  a  very  able 
citizen  Indeed,  for  he  was  going  out  to  take  charge 
of  the  construction  work  on  a  German  Railway. 
To  have  filched  so  Important  a  job  from  the  Ger- 
man's themselves  shows  that  he  must  have  had  abil- 
ity. With  them  were  a  middle-aged  Holland  couple 
engaged  conscientiously  In  travelling  over  the  globe. 
They  had  been  everywhere  —  the  two  American 
hemispheres,  from  one  Arctic  Sea  to  another,  Siberia, 
China,  the  Malay  Archipelago,  this,  that,  and  the 
other  odd  corner  of  the  world.  Always  they  sat 
placidly  side  by  side,  either  In  the  saloon  or  on  deck, 
smiling  benignly,   and   conversing  in   spaced   com- 

39 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

fortable  syllables  with  everybody  who  happened 
along.  Mrs.  Breemen  worked  industriously  on 
some  kind  of  feminine  gear,  and  explained  to  all 
and  sundry  that  she  travelled  "to  see  de  sceenery 
wid  my  hoosband. " 

Also  in  this  group  was  a  small,  wiry  German 
Doctor  who  had  lived  for  many  years  in  the  far 
interior  of  Africa,  and  was  now  returning  after  his 
vacation.  He  was  a  little  man,  bright-eyed  and 
keen,  with  a  clear  complexion  and  hard  flesh,  in 
striking  and  agreeable  contrast  to  most  of  his 
compatriots.  The  latter  were  trying  to  drink  all 
the  beer  on  the  ship;  but  as  she  had  been  stocked 
for  an  eighty-day  voyage,  of  which  this  was  but  the 
second  week,  they  were  not  making  noticeable 
headway.  However,  they  did  not  seem  to  be  easily 
discouraged.  The  Herr  Doktor  was  most  polite 
and  attentive,  but  as  we  did  not  talk  German  nor 
much  Swahili;  and  he  had  neither  English  nor  much 
French,  we  had  our  difficulties.  I  have  heard  Billy 
in  talking  to  him  scatter  fragments  of  these  four 
languages  through  a  single  sentence! 

For  several  days  we  drifted  down  a  warm  flat  sea. 
Then  one  morning  we  came  on  deck  to  find  ourselves 
close  aboard  a  number  of  volcanic  islands.  They 
were  composed  entirely  of  red  and  dark  purple  lava 
blocks,   rugged,  quite  without  vegetation  save  for 

40 


THE  RED  SEA 

occasional  patches  of  stringy  green  in  a  gully;  and 
uninhabited  except  for  a  lighthouse  on  one,  and  a 
fishing  shanty  near  the  shores  of  another.  The 
high,  mournful  mountains  with  their  dark  shadows 
seemed  to  brood  over  hot  desolation.  The  rusted 
and  battered  stern  of  a  wrecked  steamer  stuck  up 
at  an  acute  angle  from  the  surges.  Shortly  after  we 
picked  up  the  shores  of  Arabia. 

Note  the  advantages  of  a  half  ignorance.  From 
early  childhood  we  had  thought  of  Arabia  as  the 
"burning  desert"  —  flat,  of  course  —  and  of  the 
Red  Sea  as  bordered  by  "shifting  sands"  alone. 
If  we  had  known  the  truth  —  if  we  had  not  been 
half  ignorant  —  we  would  have  missed  the  profound 
surprise  of  discovering  that  in  reality  the  Red  Sea 
is  bordered  by  high  and  rugged  mountains,  leaving 
just  space  enough  between  themselves  and  the  shore 
for  a  sloping  plain  on  which  our  glasses  could  make 
out  occasional  palms.  Perhaps  the  "shifting  sands 
of  the  burning  desert"  lie  somewhere  beyond;  but 
somebody  might  have  mentioned  these  great  moun- 
tains! After  examining  them  attentively  we  had 
to  confess  that  if  this  sort  of  thing  continued 
farther  north,  the  children  of  Israel  must  have  had 
a  very  hard  time  of  it.  Mocha  shone  white,  glitter- 
ing and  low,  with  the  red  and  white  spire  of  a  mosque 
rising  brilliantly  above  it. 

41 


VI 

ADEN 

IT  WAS  cooler;  and  for  a  change  we  had  turned 
into  our  bunks,  when  B.  pounded  on  our  state- 
room door. 

"In  the  name  of  the  Eternal  East,"  said  he, 
"come  on  deck!" 

We  slipped  on  kimonos  and  joined  the  row  of 
scantily  draped  and  interested  figures  along  the  rail. 

The  ship  lay  quite  still  on  a  perfect  sea  of  moon- 
light bordered  by  a  low  flat  distant  shore  on  one  side, 
and  nearer  mountains  on  the  other.  A  strong  flare 
centred  from  two  ship  reflectors  overside  made 
a  focus  of  illumination  that  subdued,  but  could  not 
quench,  the  soft  moonlight  with  which  all  outside 
was  silvered.  A  dozen  boats  striving  against  a 
current  or  clinging  as  best  they  could  to  the  ship's 
side  glided  into  the  light  and  became  real  and  solid; 
or  dropped  back  into  the  ghostly  white  Insubstanti- 
ability  of  the  moon.  They  were  long  narrow  boats, 
with  small  flush  decks  fore  and  aft.  We  looked 
down  on  them  from  almost  directly  above,  so  that 

42 


o 
o 

Xi 

a, 
o 


Xi 


o 

> 

<u 
■*-> 

o 


'We  waited  patiently  to  see  the  camels  slung  aboard 
by  the  crane" 


ADEN 

we  saw  the  thwarts  and  the  ribs  and  the  things  they 
contained. 

Astern  in  each  stood  men,  bending  gracefully 
against  the  thrust  of  long  sweeps.  About  their 
waists  were  squares  of  cloth,  wrapped  twice  and 
tucked  in.  Otherwise  they  were  naked,  and  the 
long  smooth  muscles  of  their  slender  bodies  rippled 
under  the  skin.  The  latter  was  of  a  beautiful 
fine  texture,  and  chocolate  brown.  These  men  had 
keen  intelligent  clear-cut  faces,  of  the  Greek  order, 
as  though  the  statues  of  a  garden  had  been  stained 
brown  and  had  come  to  life.  They  leaned  on  their 
sweeps,  thrusting  slowly  but  strongly  against  the 
little  wind  and  current  that  would  drift  them  back. 

In  the  body  of  the  boats  crouched,  sat,  or  lay  a 
picturesque  mob.  Some  pulled  spasmodically  on 
the  very  long  limber  oars;  others  squatted  doing 
nothing;  some,  huddled  shapelessly  underneath 
white  cloths  that  completely  covered  them,  slept 
soundly  in  the  bottom.  We  took  these  for  mer- 
chandise until  one  of  them  suddenly  threw  aside  his 
covering  and  sat  up.  Others  again  poised  in  proud 
and  graceful  attitudes  on  the  extreme  prows  of  their 
bobbing  craft.  Especially  decorative  were  two 
clad  only  in  immense  white  turbans  and  white  cloths 
about  the  waist.  An  old  Arab  with  a  white  beard 
stood  midships  in  one  boat  quite  motionless  except 

43 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

for  the  slight  swaying  necessary  to  preserve  his 
equilibrium,  his  voluminous  white  draperies  flutter- 
ing in  the  wind,  his  dark  face  just  distinguishable 
under  his  burnouse.  Most  of  the  men  were  Somalis, 
however.  Their  keen  small  faces,  slender  but 
graceful  necks,  slim,  well-formed  torsos  bending  to 
every  movement  of  the  boat,  and  the  white  or 
gaudy  draped  nether  garments  were  as  decorative 
as  the  figures  on  an  Egyptian  tomb.  One  or  two 
of  the  more  barbaric  had  made  neat  headdresses  of 
white  clay  plastered  in  the  form  of  a  skullcap. 

After  an  interval  a  small  and  fussy  tugboat 
steamed  around  our  stern  and  drew  alongside  the 
gangway.  Three  passengers  disembarked  from  her 
and  made  their  way  aboard.  The  main  deck  of  the 
craft  under  an  awning  was  heavily  encumbered  with 
trunks,  tin  boxes,  hand  baggage,  tin  bathtubs,  gun 
cases  and  all  sorts  of  impedimenta.  The  tugboat 
moored  itself  to  us  fore  and  aft,  and  proceeded 
to  think  about  discharging.  Perhaps  twenty  men 
in  accurate  replica  of  those  in  the  small  boats  had 
charge  of  the  job.  They  had  their  own  methods. 
After  a  long  interval  devoted  strictly  to  nothing, 
some  unfathomable  impulse  would  Incite  one  or  two 
or  three  of  the  natives  to  tackle  a  trunk.  At  It 
they  tugged  and  heaved  and  pushed  In  the  manner 
of  ants  making  off  with  a  particularly  large  fly  or 

44 


ADEN 

other  treasure  trove,  teasing  It  up  the  steep  gang- 
way to  the  level  of  our  decks.  The  trunks  once 
safely  bestowed,  all  Interest,  all  Industry  died.  We 
thought  that  finished  it;  and  wondered  why  the  tug 
did  not  pull  out  of  the  way.  But  always,  after  an 
interval,  another  bright  idea  would  strike  another 
native  or  natives.  He  —  or  they  —  would  disap- 
pear beneath  the  canvas  awning  over  the  tug's  deck, 
to  emerge  shortly  carrying  almost  anything,  from 
a  parasol  to  a  heavy  chest. 

On  close  inspection  they  proved  to  be  a  very 
small  people.  The  impression  of  graceful  height 
had  come  from  the  slenderness  and  justness  of  their 
proportions,  the  smallness  of  their  bones,  and  the 
upright  grace  of  their  carriage.  After  standing 
alongside  one,  we  acquired  a  fine  respect  for  their 
ability  to  handle  those  trunks  at  all. 

Moored  to  the  other  side  of  the  ship  we  found  two 
huge  lighters  from  which  bales  of  goods  were  being 
hoisted  aboard.  Two  camels  and  a  dozen  diminu- 
tive mules  stood  In  the  waist  of  one  of  these  craft. 
The  camels  were  as  sniffy  and  supercilious  and 
scornful  as  camels  always  a.i^;  and  everybody 
promptly  hated  them  with  the  hatred  of  the  abys- 
mally inferior  spirit  for  something  that  scorns  It, 
as  is  the  usual  attitude  of  the  human  mind  toward 
camels.     We  waited  for  upward  of  an  hour  in  the 

45 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

hope  of  seeing  those  camels  hoisted  aboard;  but 
In  vain.  While  we  were  so  waiting  one  of  the  deck 
passengers  below  us,  a  Somali  In  white  clothes  and 
a  gorgeous  cerise  turban  decided  to  turn  in.  He 
spread  a  square  of  thin  matting  atop  one  of  the 
hatches,  and  began  to  unwind  yards  and  yards  of 
the  fine  silk  turban.  He  came  to  the  end  of  It  — 
whisk!  he  sank  to  the  deck;  the  turban,  spread  open 
by  the  resistance  of  the  air,  fluttered  down  to  cover 
him  from  head  to  foot.  Apparently  he  fell  asleep 
at  once,  for  he  did  not  again  move  nor  alter  his 
position.  He,  as  well  as  an  astonishingly  large 
proportion  of  the  other  Somalis  and  Abyssinians  we 
saw,  carried  a  queer,  well-defined,  triangular  wound 
in  his  head.  It  had  long  since  healed,  was  an  inch 
or  so  across,  and  looked  as  though  a  piece  of  the  skull 
had  been  removed.  If  a  conscientious  enemy  had 
leisure  and  an  ice  pick  he  would  do  just  about  that 
sort  of  a  job.  How  Its  recipient  had  escaped  instant 
death  is  a  mystery. 

At  length,  about  three  o'clock,  despairing  of  the 
camels,  we  turned  in. 

After  three  hourgj  sleep  we  were  again  on  deck. 
Aden  by  daylight  seemed  to  be  several  sections  of  a 
town  tucked  into  pockets  in  bold,  raw,  lava  mountains 
that  came  down  fairly  to  the  water's  edge.  Between 
these  pockets  ran  a  narrow  shore  road;  and  along  the 

46 


ADEN 

road  paced  haughty  camels  hitched  to  diminutive 
carts.  On  contracted  round  bluffs  toward  the  sea 
were  various  low  bungalow  buildings  which,  we  were 
informed,  comprised  the  military  and  civil  officers' 
quarters.  The  real  Aden  has  been  built  inland  a 
short  distance  at  the  bottom  of  a  cup  in  the  moun- 
tains. Elaborate  stone  reservoirs  have  been  con- 
structed to  catch  rain  water,  as  there  is  no  other 
natural  water  supply  whatever.  The  only  difficulty 
is  that  it  practically  never  rains;  so  the  reservoirs 
stand  empty,  the  water  is  distilled  from  the  sea, 
and  the  haughty  camels  and  the  little  carts  do  the 
distributing. 

The  lava  mountains  occupy  one  side  of  the 
spacious  bay  or  gulf.  The  foot  of  the  bay  and  the 
other  side  are  flat,  with  one  or  two  very  distant 
white  villages,  and  many  heaps  of  glittering  salt  as 
big  as  houses. 

We  waited  patiently  at  the  rail  for  an  hour  more 
to  see  the  camels  slung  aboard  by  the  crane.  It  was 
worth  the  wait.  They  lost  their  impassive  and 
immemorial  dignity  completely,  sprawling,  groaning, 
positively  shrieking  in  dismay.  When  the  solid 
deck  rose  to  them,  and  the  sling  had  been  loosened, 
however,  they  regained  their  poise  instantaneously. 
Their  noses  went  up  in  the  air,  and  they  looked 
about  them  with  a  challenging,  unsmiling  superiority, 

47 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

as  though  to  dare  any  one  of  us  to  Uugh.  Their 
native  attendants  immediately  squatted  down  in 
front  of  them  and  began  to  feed  them  with  con- 
venient lengths  of  what  looked  like  our  common 
marsh  cattails.  The  camels  did  not  even  then 
manifest  the  slightest  interest  in  the  proceedings. 
Indeed,  they  would  not  condescend  to  reach  out  three 
inches  for  the  most  luscious  tidbit  held  that  far 
from  their  aristocratic  noses.  The  attendants  had 
actually  to  thrust  the  fodder  between  their  jaws. 
I  am  glad  to  say  they  condescended  to  chew. 


VII 
THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

IEAVING  Aden,  and  rounding  the  great  prom- 
-^  ontory  of  Cape  Gardafui,  we  turned  south 
along  the  coast  of  Africa.  Off  the  cape  were  strange, 
oily  cross  rips  and  currents  on  the  surface  of  the  sea; 
the  flying  fish  rose  in  flocks  before  our  bows;  high 
mountains  of  peaks  and  flat  table  tops  thrust  their 
summits  into  clouds;  and  along  the  coast  the  breakers 
spouted  like  whales.  For  the  first  time,  too,  we 
began  to  experience  what  our  preconceptions  had 
imagined  as  tropical  heat.  Heretofore  we  had  been 
hot  enough,  in  all  conscience,  but  the  air  had  felt  as 
though  wafted  from  an  opened  furnace  door  —  dry 
and  scorching.  Now,  although  the  temperature  was 
lower,*  the  humidity  was  greater.  A  swooning 
languor  was  abroad  over  the  spellbound  ocean,  a 
relaxing  mist  of  enchantment.  My  glasses  were 
constantly  clouding  over  with  a  fine  coating  of 
water  drops;  exposed  metal  rusted  overnight;  the 
folds  in  garments   accumulated  mildew   in  an  as- 

*82-88''  in  daytime,  and  75-83"  at  night. 

49 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

tonishingly  brief  period  of  time.  There  was  never 
even  the  suggestion  of  chill  in  this  dampness.  It 
clung  and  enveloped  like  a  grateful  garment;  and 
seemed  only  to  lack  sweet  perfume. 

At  this  time,  by  good  fortune,  it  happened  that 
the  moon  came  full.  We  had  enjoyed  its  waxing 
during  our  voyage  down  the  Red  Sea;  but  now  it  had 
reached  its  greatest  phase,  and  hung  over  the 
slumbering  tropic  ocean  like  a  lantern.  The  lazy  sea 
stirred  beneath  it,  and  the  ship  glided  on,  its  lights 
fairlysubdued  by  the  splendour  of  the  waters.  Under 
the  awnings  the  ship's  company  lounged  in  lazy 
attitudes  or  promenaded  slowly,  talking  low  voiced, 
cigars  glowing  in  the  splendid  dusk.  Overside,  in 
the  furrow  of  the  disturbed  waters,  the  phosphores- 
cence flashed  perpetually  beneath  the  shadow  of  the 
ship. 

The  days  passed  by  languidly  and  all  alike.  On 
the  chart  outside  the  smoking-room  door  the  proces- 
sion of  tiny  German  flags  on  pins  marched  steadily, 
an  inch  at  a  time,  toward  the  south.  Otherwise  we 
might  as  well  have  imagined  ourselves  midgets 
afloat  In  a  pond  and  getting  nowhere. 

Somewhere  north  of  the  equator  —  before  Father 
Neptune  in  ancient  style  had  come  aboard  and 
ducked  the  lot  of  us  —  we  were  treated  to  the 
spectacle  of  how  the  German  "sheep"  reacts  under 

50 


THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

a  joke.  Each  nation  has  its  type  of  fool;  and  all, 
for  the  joyousness  of  mankind,  differ.  On  the 
bulletin  board  one  evening  appeared  a  notice  to  the 
effect  that  the  following  morning  a  limited  number 
of  sportsmen  would  be  permitted  ashore  for  the  day. 
Each  was  advised  to  bring  his  own  lunch,  rifle,  and 
drinks.  The  reason  alleged  was  that  the  ship  must 
round  a  certain  cape  across  which  the  sportsmen 
could  march  afoot  in  enough  shorter  time  to  permit 
them  a  little  shooting. 

Now  aboard  ship  were  a  dozen  English,  four 
Americans,  and  thirty  or  forty  Germans.  The 
Americans  and  English  looked  upon  that  bulletin, 
smiled  gently  and  went  to  order  another  round  of 
lime  squashes.  It  was  a  meek,  mild,  little  joke 
enough;  but  surely  the  bulletin  board  was  as  far  as  it 
could  possibly  go.  Next  morning,  however,  we 
observed  a  half  dozen  of  our  German  friends  in 
khaki  and  sun  helmet,  very  busy  with  lunch  boxes, 
bottles  of  beer,  rifles,  and  the  like.  They  said  they 
were  going  ashore  as  per  bulletin.  We  looked  at 
each  other  and  hied  us  to  the  upper  deck.  There  we 
found  one  of  the  boats  slung  overside,  with  our  old 
friend  the  Quartermaster  ostentatiously  stowing  kegs 
of  water,  boxes  and  the  like. 

"When,"  we  inquired  gently,  "does  the  expedition 
start?" 

SI 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

"At  ten  o'clock,"  said  he. 

It  was  now  within  fifteen  minutes  of  that  hour. 
We  were  at  the  time  fully  ten  miles  off  shore,  and 
forging  ahead  full  speed  parallel  with  the  coast. 

We  pointed  out  this  fact  to  the  Quartermaster,  but 
found  to  our  sorrow  that  the  poor  old  man  had 
suddenly  gone  deaf!  We,  therefore,  refrained  from 
asking  several  other  questions  that  had  occurred 
to  us,  such  as,  Why  the  cape  was  not  shown  on  the 
map? 

"  Somebody,"  said  one  of  the  Americans,  a  cowboy 
going  out  second  class  on  a  look  for  new  cattle  coun- 
try, "is  a  goat.  It  sure  looks  to  me  like  it  was  these 
yere  steamboat  people.  They  can't  expect  to  rope 
nothing  on  such  a  raw  deal  as  this!" 

To  which  the  English  assented,  though  in  different 
idiom. 

But  now  up  the  companion  ladder  struggled  eight 
serious-minded  individuals  herded  by  the  second 
mate.  They  were  armed  to  the  teeth  and  thoroughly 
equipped  with  things  I  had  seen  in  German  cata- 
logues, but  in  whose  existence  I  had  never  believed. 
A  half-dozen  sailors  eagerly  helped  them  with  their 
multitudinous  effects.  Not  a  thought  gave  they  to 
the  fact  that  we  were  ten  miles  off  the  coast,  that 
we  gave  no  indication  of  slackening  speed,  that  it 
would  take  the  rest  of  the  day  to  row  ashore,  that 

52 


THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

there  was  no  cape  for  us  to  round,  that  if  there 
were  —  oh!  all  the  other  hundred  improbabilities 
peculiar  to  the  situation.  Under  direction  of  the 
mate  they  deposited  their  impedimenta  beneath  a 
tarpaulin,  and  took  their  places  in  solemn  rows 
amidships  across  the  thwarts  of  the  boat  slung 
overside.  The  importance  of  the  occasion  sat 
upon  them  heavily;  they  were  going  ashore  —  in 
Africa  —  to  Slay  Wild  Beasts.  They  looked  upon 
themselves  as  of  bolder,  sterner  stuff  than  the  rest 
of  us. 

When  the  procession  first  appeared,  our  cowboy's 
face  for  a  single  instant  had  flamed  with  amazed 
incredulity.  Then  a  mask  of  expressionless  stolidity 
fell  across  his  features,  which  in  no  line  thereafter 
varied  one  iota. 

"What  are  they  going  to  do  with  them?"  mur- 
mured one  of  the  Englishmen,  at  a  loss. 

"I  reckon,"  said  the  cowboy,  "that  they  look  on 
this  as  the  easiest  way  to  drown  them  all  to  onct. " 

Then  from  behind  one  of  the  other  boats  suddenly 
appeared  a  huge  German  sailor  with  a  hose.  The 
devoted  imbeciles  in  the  shore  boat  were  drenched 
as  by  a  cloudburst.  Back  and  forth  and  up  and 
down  the  heavy  stream  played,  while  every  other 
human  being  about  the  ship  shrieked  with  joy. 
Did  the  victims  rise  up  In  a  body  and  capture  that 

S3 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

hose  nozzle  and  turn  the  stream  to  sweep  the  decks? 
Did  they  duck  for  shelter?  did  they  at  least  know 
enough  to  scatter  and  run?  They  did  none  of  these 
things;  but  sat  there  in  meek  little  rows  like  manni- 
kins  until  the  boat  was  half  full  of  water  and  every- 
thing awash.  Then,  when  the  sailor  shut  off  the 
stream,  they  continued  to  sit  there  until  the  mate 
came  to  order  them  out.  Why?  I  cannot  tell  you. 
Perhaps  that  is  the  German  idea  of  how  to  take  a 
joke.  Perhaps  they  were  afraid  worse  things  might  be 
consequent  on  resistance.  Perhaps  they  still  hoped 
to  go  ashore.  One  of  the  Englishmen  asked  just 
that  question. 

"What,"  he  demanded  disgustedly,  "what  is  the 
matter  with  the  beggars?" 

Our  cowboy  may  have  had  the  correct  solution. 
He  stretched  his  long  legs  and  jumped  down  from 
the  rail. 

"Nothing  stirring  above  the  ears,"  said  he. 

It  is  customary  in  books  of  travel  to  describe  this 
part  of  the  journey  about  as  follows:  "skirting 
the  low  and  uninteresting  shores  of  Africa  we  at 
length  reached,"  etc.  Low  and  uninteresting  shores ! 
Through  the  glasses  we  made  out  distant  mountains 
far  beyond  nearer  hills.  The  latter  were  green- 
covered  with  dense  forests  whence  rose  mysterious 
smokes.     Along   the   shore   we    saw   an   occasional 

54 


THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

coconut  plantation  to  the  water's  edge  and  native 
huts  and  villages  of  thatch.  Canoes  of  strange 
models  lay  drawn  up  on  shelving  beaches;  queer 
fish-pounds  of  brush  reached  out  considerable 
distances  from  the  coast.  The  white  surf  pounded 
on  a  yellow  beach. 

All  about  these  things  was  the  jungle,  hemming 
in  the  plantations  and  villages,  bordering  the  lagoons, 
creeping  down  until  it  fairly  overhung  the  yellow 
beaches;  as  though,  conqueror  through  all  the 
country  beyond,  it  were  half-inclined  to  dispute 
dominion  with  old  Ocean  himself.  It  looked  from 
the  distance  like  a  thick,  soft  coverlet  thrown  down 
over  the  country;  following,  or,  rather,  suggesting, 
the  inequalities.  Through  the  glasses  we  were 
occasionally  able  to  peek  under  the  edge  of  this 
coverlet,  and  see  where  the  fringe  of  the  jungle  drew 
back  in  a  little  pocket,  or  to  catch  the  sheen  of 
mysterious  dark  rivers  slipping  to  the  sea.  Up 
these  dark  rivers,  by  way  of  the  entrances  of  these 
tiny  pockets,  the  imagination  then  could  lead  on 
into  the  dimness  beneath  the  sunlit  upper  surfaces. 

Toward  the  close  of  one  afternoon  we  changed 
our  course  slightly  and  swung  in  on  a  long  slant 
toward  the  coast.  We  did  it  casually;  too  casually 
for  so  very  important  an  action,  for  now  at  last  we 
were    about    to    touch  the    mysterious    continent. 

55 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Then  we  saw  clearer  the  fine,  big  groves  of  palm  and 
the  luxuriance  of  the  tropical  vegetation.  Against 
the  greenery,  bold  and  white,  shone  the  buildings  of 
Mombasa;  and  after  a  little  while  more  we  saw  an 
inland  glitter  that  represented  her  narrow,  deep  bay, 
the  stern  of  a  wreck  against  the  low,  green  cliffs,  and 
strange,  fat-trunked  squat  trees  without  leaves. 
Straight  past  all  this  we  glided  at  half  speed,  then 
turned  sharp  to  the  right  to  enter  a  long,  wide  ex- 
panse, like  a  river  with  green  banks,  twenty  feet  or  so 
in  height,  grown  thickly  with  the  tall  coconut  palms. 
These  gave  way  at  times  into  broad,  low  lagoons,  at 
the  end  of  which  were  small  beaches  and  boats,  and 
native  huts  among  more  coconut  groves.  Through 
our  glasses  we  could  see  the  black  men  watching  us, 
quite  motionless,  squatted  on  their  heels. 

It  was  like  suddenly  entering  another  world,  this 
gliding  from  the  open  sea  straight  into  the  heart  of 
a  green  land.  The  ceaseless  wash  of  waves  we  had 
left  outside  with  the  ocean;  our  engines  had  fallen 
silent.  Across  the  hushed  waters  came  to  us  strange 
chantings  and  the  beating  of  a  tom-tom,  an  oc- 
casional shrill  shout  from  the  unknown  jungle. 
The  sun  was  just  set,  and  the  tops  of  the  palms 
caught  the  last  rays;  all  below  was  dense  green 
shadow.  Across  the  surface  of  the  water  glided 
dugout  canoes  of  shapes  strange  to  us.      We  passed 

S6 


THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

ancient  ruins  almost  completely  dismantled,  their 
stones  half-smothered  in  green  rank  growth.  The 
wide  riverlike  bay  stretched  on  before  us  as  far  as 
the  waning  light  permitted  us  to  see;  finally  losing 
itself  in  the  heart  of  mystery. 

Steadily  and  confidently  our  ship  steamed  for- 
ward, until  at  last,  when  we  seemed  to  be  afloat  in 
a  land-locked  lake,  we  dropped  anchor  and  came 
to  rest. 

Darkness  fell  utterly  before  the  usual  quarantine 
regulations  had  been  carried  through.  Active  and 
efficient  agents  had  already  taken  charge  of  our 
affairs,  so  we  had  only  to  wait  idly  by  the  rail  until 
summoned.  Then  we  jostled  our  way  down  the 
long  gangway,  passed  and  repassed  by  natives 
carrying  baggage  or  returning  for  more  baggage, 
stepped  briskly  aboard  a  very  bobby  little  craft, 
clambered  over  a  huge  pile  of  baggage,  and  stowed 
ourselves  as  best  we  could.  A  figure  in  a  long  white 
robe  sat  astern,  tiller  ropes  in  hand;  two  half-naked 
blacks  far  up  toward  the  prow  manipulated  a  pair  of 
tremendous  sweeps.  With  a  vast  heaving,  jabbering, 
and  shouting  our  boat  disengaged  itself  from  the 
swarm  of  other  craft.  We  floated  around  the  stern 
of  our  ship  —  and  were  immediately  suspended  in 
blackness  dotted  with  the  stars  and  their  reflections 
and  with  various,  twinkling,  scattered  lights.    To  one 

57 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

of  these  we  steered;  and  presently  touched  at  a  stone 
quai  with  steps.  At  last  we  set  foot  on  the  land  to 
which  so  long  we  had  journeyed  and  toward  which 
so  great  our  expectations  had  grown.  We  experi- 
enced "the  pleasure  that  touches  the  souls  of  men 
landing  on  strange  shores. " 


S8 


VIII 
MOMBASA 

A  SINGLE  light  shone  at  the  end  of  the  stone 
quai,  and  another  inside  a  big  indeterminate 
building  at  some  distance.  We  stumbled  toward 
this,  and  found  it  to  be  the  biggest  shed  ever  con- 
structed out  of  corrugated  iron.  A  bearded  Sikh 
stood  on  guard  at  its  open  entrance.  He  let  any  one 
and  every  one  enter,  with  never  a  flicker  of  his 
expressionless  black  eyes;  but  allowed  no  one  to  go 
out  again  without  the  closest  scrutiny  for  dutiable 
articles  that  lacked  the  blue  customs  paster.  We 
entered.  The  place  was  vast  and  barnlike  and  dim, 
and  very,  very  hot.  A  half-dozen  East  Indians  stood 
behind  the  counters;  another,  a  babu,  sat  at  a  little 
desk  ready  to  give  his  clerical  attention  to  what  might 
be  required.  We  saw  no  European;  but  next  morning 
found  that  one  passed  his  daylight  hours  in  this  in- 
ferno of  heat.  For  the  moment  we  let  our  main  bag- 
gage go,  and  occupied  ourselves  only  with  getting 
through  our  smaller  effects.  This  accomplished,  we 
stepped  out  past  the  Sikh  into  the  grateful  night. 

59 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  had  as  guide  a  slender  and  wiry  individual 
clad  in  tarboosh  and  long  white  robe.  In  a  vague 
general  way  we  knew  that  the  town  of  Mombasa, 
was  across  the  island  and  about  four  miles  distant. 
In  what  direction  or  how  we  got  there  we  had  not 
the  remotest  idea. 

The  guide  set  off  at  a  brisk  pace  with  which  we 
tried  in  vain  to  keep  step.  He  knew  the  ground, 
and  we  did  not;  and  the  night  was  black-dark. 
Commands  to  stop  were  of  no  avail  whatever;  nor 
could  we  get  hold  of  him  to  restrain  him  by  force. 
When  we  put  on  speed  he  put  on  speed  too.  His 
white  robe  glimmered  ahead  of  us  just  in  sight;  and 
in  the  darkness  other  white  robes,  passing  and 
crossing,  glimmered  also.  At  first  the  ground  was 
rough,  so  that  we  stumbled  outrageously.  Billy 
and  B.  soon  fell  behind,  and  I  heard  their  voices 
calling  plaintively  for  us  to  slow  down  a  bit. 

"If  I  ever  lose  this  nigger  I'll  never  find  him 
again,"  I  shouted  back,  "but  I  can  find  you.  Do 
the  best  you  can!" 

We  struck  a  smoother  road  that  led  up  a  hill  on 
a  long  slant.  Apparently  for  miles  we  followed 
thus,  the  white-robed  individual  ahead  still  deaf  to 
all  commands  and  the  blood-curdling  threats  I  had 
now  come  to  uttering.  All  our  personal  baggage 
had  long  since  mysteriously  disappeared,  ravished 

60 


Vasco  da  Gama  Street,  the  principal  thoroughfare 
of  Mombasa 


The  trolley  car  of  Mombasa 


In  the  Ivory  market  of  Mombasa 


The  labour  of  Africa  is  carried  forward  by  song 


MOMBASA 

away  from  us  at  the  customs  house  by  a  ragged 
horde  of  blacks.  It  began  to  look  as  though  we 
were  stranded  in  Africa  without  baggage  or  effects. 
Billy  and  B.  were  all  the  time  growing  fainter  in  the 
distance,  though  evidently  they  too  had  struck  the 
long,  slanting  road. 

Then  we  came  to  a  dim,  solitary  lantern  glowing 
feebly  beside  a  bench  at  what  appeared  to  be  the  top 
of  the  hill.  Here  our  guide  at  last  came  to  a  halt 
and  turned  to  me  a  grinning  face. 

^'Samama  hapa,"  he  observed. 

There!  That  was  the  word  I  had  been  frantically 
searching  my  memory  for!     Samama  —  stop! 

The  others  struggled  in.  We  were  very  warm. 
Up  to  the  bench  led  a  tiny  car  track,  the  rails  not 
over  two  feet  apart,  like  the  toy  railroads  children 
use.  This  did  not  look  much  like  grown-up  trans- 
portation, but  it  and  the  bench  and  the  dim  lantern 
represented  all  the  visible  world. 

We  sat  philosophically  on  the  bench  and  enjoyed 
the  soft  tropical  night.  The  air  was  tepid,  heavy 
with  unknown  perfume,  black  as  a  band  of  velvet 
across  the  eyes,  musical  with  the  subdued  undertones 
of  a  thousand  thousand  night  insects.  At  points 
overhead  the  soft,  blind  darkness  melted  imper- 
ceptibly into  stars. 

After  a  long  interval  we  distinguished  a  distant 

6i 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

faint  rattling,  that  each  moment  increased  in  loud- 
ness. Shortly  came  into  view  along  the  narrow 
tracks  a  most  extraordinary  vehicle.  It  was  a 
small  square  platform  on  wheels  across  which  ran  a 
bench  seat,  and  over  which  spread  a  canopy.  It 
carried  also  a  dim  lantern.  This  rumbled  up  to  us 
and  stopped.  From  its  stern  hopped  two  black  boys. 
Obeying  a  smiling  invitation,  we  took  our  places  on 
the  bench.  The  two  boys  immediately  set  to  push- 
ing us  along  the  narrow  track. 

We  were  off  at  an  astonishing  speed  through  the 
darkness.  The  night  was  deliciously  tepid;  and, 
as  I  have  said,  absolutely  dark.  We  made  out  the 
tops  of  palms  and  the  dim  loom  of  great  spreading 
trees,  and  could  smell  sweet,  soft  odours.  The  bare- 
headed, lightly  clad  boys  pattered  alongside  whenever 
the  grade  was  easy,  one  hand  resting  against  the  rail; 
or  pushed  mightily  up  little  hills;  or  clung  alongside 
like  monkeys  while  we  rattled  and  swooped  and 
plunged  down  hill  into  the  darkness.  Subsequently 
we  learned  that  a  huge  flat  beam  projecting  amid- 
ships from  beneath  the  seat  operated  a  brake  which 
we  above  were  supposed  to  manipulate;  but  being 
quite  ignorant  as  to  the  ethics  and  mechanics  of  this 
strange  street-car  system,  we  swung  and  swayed  at 
times  quite  breathlessly. 

After  about  fifteen  minutes  we  began  to  pick  up 

62 


MOMBASA 

lights  ahead,  then  to  pass  dimly  seen  garden  walls 
with  trees  whose  brilliant  flowers  the  lantern  re- 
vealed fitfully.  At  last  we  made  out  white  stucco 
houses;  and  shortly  drew  up  with  a  flourish  before 
the  hotel  itself. 

This  was  a  two-story  stucco  affair,  with  deep 
verandas  sunken  in  at  each  story.  It  fronted  a 
wide  white  street  facing  a  public  garden;  and  this, 
we  subsequently  discovered,  was  about  the  only 
clear  and  open  space  in  all  the  narrow  town.  Ante- 
lope horns  were  everywhere  hung  on  the  walls;  and 
teakwood  easy  chairs  with  rests  on  which  com- 
fortably to  elevate  your  feet  above  your  head  stood 
all  about.  We  entered  a  bare  brick-floored  dining- 
room,  and  partook  of  tropical  fruits  quite  new  to  us 
—  papayas,  mangoes,  custard  apples,  pawpaws,  and 
the  small  red  eating  bananas  too  delicate  for  export. 
Overhead  the  punkahs  swung  back  and  forth  in  lazy 
hypnotic  rhythm.  We  could  see  the  two  blacks  at 
the  ends  of  the  punkah  cords  outside  on  the  ve- 
randa, their  bodies  swaying  llthely  in  alternation  as 
they  threw  their  weight  against  the  light  ropes. 
Other  blacks,  in  the  long  white  robes  and  exquisitely 
worked  white  skullcaps  of  the  Swahili,  glided  noise- 
lessly on  bare  feet,  serving. 

After  dinner  we  sat  out  until  midnight  in  the 
teakwood  chairs  of  the  upper  gallery,  staring  through 

63 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  arches  into  the  black,  mysterious  night,  for  it 
was  very  hot;  and  we  rather  dreaded  the  necessary 
mosquito  veils  as  likely  to  prove  stuffy.  The  mos- 
quitoes are  few  in  Mombasa,  but  they  are  very, 
very  deadly.  At  midnight  the  thermometer  stood 
87°  F. 

Our  premonitions  as  to  stuffiness  were  well  justi- 
fied. After  a  restless  night  we  came  awake  at 
daylight  to  the  sound  of  a  fine  row  of  some  sort 
going  on  outside  in  the  streets.  Immediately  we 
arose,  threw  aside  the  lattices,  and  hung  out  over 
the  sill. 

The  chalk-white  road  stretched  before  us.  Op- 
posite was  a  public  square  grown  with  brilliant 
flowers,  and  flowering  trees.  We  could  not  doubt 
the  cause  of  the  trouble.  An  Indian  on  a  bicycle, 
hurrying  to  his  office,  had  knocked  down  a  native 
child.  Said  child,  quite  naked,  sat  in  the  middle 
of  the  white  dust  and  howled  to  rend  the  heavens  — 
whenever  he  felt  himself  observed,  If,  however, 
the  attention  of  the  crowd  happened  for  the  moment 
to  be  engrossed  with  the  babu,  the  injured  one  sat 
up  straight  and  watched  the  row  with  interested 
rolling  pickaninny  eyes.  A  native  policeman  made 
the  centre  of  a  whirling,  vociferating  group.  He  was 
a  fine-looking  chap,  straight  and  soldierly,  dressed 
in  red  tarboosh,  khaki  coat  bound  close  around  the 

64 


MOMBASA 

waist  by  yards  and  yards  of  broad  red  webbing,  loose, 
short  drawers  of  khaki,  bare  knees  and  feet,  and  blue 
puttees  between.  His  manner  was  inflexible.  The 
babu  jabbered  excitedly;  telling,  in  all  probability, 
how  he  was  innocent  of  fault,  was  late  for  his  work, 
etc.  In  vain.  He  had  to  go;  also  the  kid,  who  now, 
seeing  himself  again  an  object  of  interest,  recom- 
menced his  howling.  Then  the  babu  began  franti- 
cally to  indicate  members  of  the  crowd  whom  he 
desired  to  retain  as  witnesses.  Evidently  not 
pleased  with  the  prospect  of  appearing  in  court, 
those  indicated  promptly  ducked  and  ran.  The 
policeman  as  promptly  pursued  and  collared  them 
one  by  one.  He  was  a  long-legged  policeman,  and 
he  ran  well.  The  moment  he  laid  hands  on  a 
fugitive,  the  latter  collapsed;  whereupon  the  police- 
man dropped  him  and  took  after  another.  The 
joke  of  it  was  that  the  one  so  abandoned  did  not 
try  again  to  make  off,  but  stayed  as  though  he  had 
been  tagged  at  some  game.  Finally  the  whole  lot, 
still  vociferating,  moved  off  down  the  white  road. 

For  over  an  hour  we  hung  from  our  window  sill 
thoroughly  interested  and  amused  by  the  varied  life 
that  deployed  before  our  eyes.  The  morning 
seemed  deliciously  cool  after  the  hot  night,  although 
the  thermometer  stood  79°.  The  sky  was  very  blue, 
with  big  piled  white  clouds  down  near  the  horizon. 

65 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Dazzling  sun  shone  on  the  white  road,  the  white 
buildings  visible  up  and  down  the  street,  the  white 
walls  enclosing  their  gardens,  and  the  greenery  and 
colours  of  the  trees  within  them.  For  from  what 
we  could  see  from  our  window  we  immediately 
voted  tropical  vegetation  quite  up  to  advertisement. 
Whole  trees  of  gaudy  red  or  yellow  or  bright  orange 
blossoms,  flowering  vines,  flowering  shrubs,  peered 
over  the  walls  or  through  the  fences;  and  behind 
them  rose  great  mangoes  or  the  slenderer  shafts  of 
bananas  and  coconut  palms. 

Up  and  down  wandered  groups  of  various  sorts 
of  natives.  A  month  later  we  would  have  been  able 
to  identify  their  different  tribes  and  to  know  more 
about  them;  but  now  we  wondered  at  them  as  strange 
and  picturesque  peoples.  They  impressed  us  in  gen- 
eral as  being  a  fine  lot  of  men,  for  they  were  of  good 
physique,  carried  themselves  well,  and  looked  about 
them  with  a  certain  dignity  and  independence,  a 
fine,  free  pride  of  carriage  and  of  step.  This  fact 
alone  difi"erentiated  them  from  our  own  negroes; 
but,  further,  their  features  were  in  general  much 
finer,  and  their  skins  of  a  clear  mahogony  beautiful 
in  its  satiny  texture.  Most  —  and  these  were  the 
blackest  —  wore  long  white  robes  and  fine  openwork 
skullcaps.  They  were  the  local  race,  the  Swahili, 
bad  we  but  knowa  it;  the  original  "Zanzibari"  who 

66 


MOMBASA 

furnished  Livingstone,  Stanley,  Speke,  and  the  other 
early  explorers  with  their  men.  Others,  however, 
were  much  less  "civilized."  We  saw  one  "Cook's 
tour  from  the  jungle"  consisting  of  six  savages, 
their  hair  twisted  into  innumerable  points,  their 
ear  lobes  stretched  to  hang  fairly  to  their  shoulders 
wearing  only  a  rather  neglectful  blanket,  adorned 
with  polished  wire,  carrying  war  clubs  and  bright 
spears.  They  followed,  with  eyes  and  mouths 
open,  a  very  sophisticated-looking  city  cousin  in  the 
usual  white  garments,  swinging  a  jaunty,  light 
bamboo  cane.  The  cane  seems  to  be  a  distinguish- 
ing mark  of  the  leisure  class.  It  not  only  means 
that  you  are  not  working;  but  also  that  you  have  no 
earthly  desire  to  work. 

About  this  time  one  of  the  hotel  boys  brought  the 
inevitable  chota-hahzari  —  the  tea  and  biscuits  of 
early  morning.     For  this  once  it  was  very  welcome. 

Our  hotel  proved  to  be  on  the  direct  line  of 
freighting.  There  are  no  horses  or  draught  animals 
in  Mombasa;  the  fly  is  too  deadly.  Therefore  all 
hauling  is  done  by  hand.  The  tiny  tracks  of  the 
unique  street-car  system  run  everywhere  any  one 
would  wish  to  go;  branching  off  even  into  private 
grounds  and  to  the  very  front  doors  of  bungalows 
situated  far  out  of  town.  Each  resident  owns  his 
own    street  car  just  as  elsewhere    a  man  has  his 

67 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

own  carriage.  There  are  of  course  public  cars  also, 
each  with  its  pair  of  boys  to  push  it;  and  also  a 
number  of  rather  decrepit  rickshaws.  As  a  natural 
corollary  to  the  passenger  traffic,  the  freighting  also 
is  handled  by  the  blacks  on  large  flat  trucks  with 
short  guiding  poles.  These  men  are  quite  naked 
save  for  a  small  loin  cloth,  are  beautifully  shaped, 
and  glisten  all  over  from  the  perspiration  shining 
in  the  sun.  So  fine  is  the  texture  of  their  skins,  the 
softness  of  their  colour,  so  rippling  the  play  of 
muscles,  that  this  shining  perspiration  is  like  a  beau- 
tiful polish.  They  push  from  behind  slowly  and 
steadily  and  patiently  and  unwaveringly  the  most 
tremendous  loads  of  the  heaviest  stuffs.  When  the 
hill  becomes  too  steep  for  them,  they  turn  their 
backs  against  the  truck;  and  by  placing  one  foot 
behind  the  other,  a  few  inches  at  a  time,  they  edge 
their  burden  up  the  slope. 

The  steering  is  done  by  one  man  at  the  pole  or 
tongue  in  front.  This  individual  also  sets  the  key 
to  the  song  by  which  in  Africa  all  heavy  labour  is 
carried  forward.  He  cries  his  wavering  shrill-voiced 
chant;  the  toilers  utter  antiphony  in  low  gruff  tones. 
At  a  distance  one  hears  only  the  wild  high  syncopated 
chanting;  but  as  the  affair  draws  slowly  nearer,  he 
catches  the  undertone  of  the  responses.  These 
latter  are  cast  in  the  regular  swing  and  rhythm  of 

68 


Old  Portuguese  1 


.:l  .ii  Mombasa 


In  the  Arab  quarter  of  Mombasa 


In  the  Swahili  quarter  of  Mombasa 


The  entire  water  supply  of  Mombasa  is  drawn  from 
numberless  picturesque  wells 


MOMBASA 

effort;  but  the  steersman  throws  in  his  bit  at  odd 
and  irregular  intervals.     Thus: 

Headman  (shrill):     ^^ Hay  ah  mon!" 

Pushers  (gruff  in  rhythm) :  Tunkf  —  tunki  — 
tunk!  —  "or: 

Headman  (shrill  and  wavering  minor  chant): 
"^A  —  nah  —  nee  —  e-e-e!^^ 

Pushers  (undertone) :  "  Umbwa  — jo-e!  Umhwa  — 
jo  —  er 

These  wild  and  barbaric  chantings  —  in  the 
distance;  near  at  hand,  dying  into  distance  again, 
slow,  dogged,  toilsome  —  came  to  be  to  us  one  of  the 
typical  features  of  the  place. 

After  breakfast  we  put  on  our  sun  helmets  and 
went  forth  curiously  to  view  the  town.  We  found  it 
roughly  divided  into  four  quarters  —  the  old  Portu- 
guese, the  Arabic,  the  European,  and  the  native. 
The  Portuguese  comprises  the  outer  fringe  next  the 
waterfront  of  the  inner  bay.  It  is  very  narrow  of 
street,  with  whitewashed  walls,  balconies,  and 
wonderful  carven  and  studded  doors.  The  business 
of  the  town  is  done  here.  The  Arabic  quarter  lies 
back  of  it  —  a  maze  of  narrow  alleys  winding  aim- 
lessly here  and  there  between  high  white  buildings, 
with  occasionally  the  minarets  and  towers  of  a 
mosque.  This  district  harbours  beside  the  upper 
class  Swahilis  and  Arabs    a  large  number  of  East 

69 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Indians.  Still  back  of  this  are  thousands  of  the 
low  grass,  or  mud  and  wattle  huts  of  the  natives, 
their  roofs  thatched  with  straw  or  palm.  These  are 
apparently  arranged  on  little  system.  The  small 
European  population  lives  atop  the  sea  bluffs 
beyond  the  old  fort  in  the  most  attractive  bungalows. 
This,  the  most  desirable  location  of  all,  has  remained 
open  to  them  because  heretofore  the  fierce  wars 
with  which  Mombasa,  "the  Island  of  Blood,"  has 
been  swept  have  made  the  exposed  seaward  lands 
impossible. 

No  idle  occupation  can  be  more  fascinating  than 
to  wander  about  the  mazes  of  this  ancient  town. 
The  variety  of  race  and  occupation  is  something 
astounding.  Probably  the  one  human  note  that, 
everywhere  persisting,  draws  the  whole  together  is 
furnished  by  the  water-carriers.  Mombasa  has  no 
water  system  whatever.  The  entire  supply  is 
drawn  from  numberless  picturesque  wells  scattered 
everywhere  in  the  crowded  centre;  and  distributed 
mainly  in  Standard  Oil  cans  suspended  at  either 
end  of  a  short  pole.  By  dint  of  constant  daily  exer- 
cise, hauling  water  up  from  a  depth  and  carrying  it 
various  distances,  these  men  have  developed  the 
most  beautifully  powerful  figures.  They  proceed 
at  a  half  trot,  the  slender  poles,  with  forty  pounds 
at  either  end,  seeming  fairly  to  cut  into  their  naked 

70 


MOMBASA 

shoulders,  muttering  a  word  of  warning  to  the 
loiterers  at  every  other  breath  —  semeelay!  semee- 
lay!  No  matter  in  what  part  of  Mombasa  you  may 
happen  to  be,  or  at  what  hour  of  the  day  or  night, 
you  will  meet  these  industrious  little  men  trotting 
along  under  their  burdens. 

Everywhere  also  are  the  women,  carrying  them- 
selves proudly  erect,  with  a  free  swing  of  the  hips. 
They  wear  invariably  a  single  sheet  of  cotton  cloth 
printed  in  blue  or  black  with  the  most  astonishing 
borders  and  spotty  designs.  This  is  drawn  tight 
just  above  the  breasts,  leaving  the  shoulders  and 
arms  bare.  Their  hair  is  divided  into  perhaps  a 
dozen  parts  running  lengthwise  of  the  head  from  the 
forehead  to  the  nape  of  the  neck,  after  the  manner 
of  the  stripes  on  a  watermelon.  Each  part  then 
ends  in  a  tiny  twisted  pigtail  not  over  an  inch  long. 
The  lobes  of  their  ears  have  been  stretched  until 
they  hold  thick  round  disks  about  three  inches  in 
diameter,  ornamented  by  concentric  circles  of 
different  colours,  with  a  red  bull's  eye  for  a  centre. 
The  outer  edges  of  the  ears  are  then  further  decorated 
with  gold  clasps  set  closely  together.  Many  brace- 
lets, necklaces,  and  armlets  complete  the  get-up. 
They  are  big  women,  with  soft  velvety  skins,  and  a 
proud  and  haughty  carriage;  the  counterparts  of 
the  men  in  the  white  robes  and  caps. 

71 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

By  the  way,  it  may  be  a  good  place  here  to  remark 
that  these  garments,  and  the  patterned  squares  of 
cloth  worn  by  the  women,  are  invariably  most 
spotlessly  clean. 

These,  we  learned,  were  the  Swahilis,  the  ruling 
class,  the  descendents  of  the  slave  traders.  Beside 
them  are  all  sorts  and  conditions.  Your  true  savage 
pleased  his  own  fancy  as  to  dress  and  personal 
adornment.  The  bushmen  generally  shaved  the 
edges  of  their  wool  to  leave  a  nice  close-fitting 
natural  skullcap,  wore  a  single  blanket  draped  from 
one  shoulder,  and  carried  a  war  club.  The  ear  lobe 
seemed  always  to  be  stretched;  sometimes  sufficiently 
to  have  carried  a  pint  bottle.  Indeed,  white  marma- 
lade jars  seemed  to  be  very  popular  wear.  One 
ingenious  person  had  acquired  a  dozen  of  the  sort 
of  safety  pins  used  to  fasten  curtains  to  their  rings. 
These  he  had  snapped  into  the  lobes,  six  on  a  side. 

We  explored  for  some  time.  One  of  the  Swahilis 
attached  himself  to  us  so  unobtrusively  that  before 
we  knew  it  we  had  accepted  him  as  guide.  In  that 
capacity  he  realized  an  ideal,  for  he  never  addressed 
a  word  to  us,  nor  did  he  even  stay  in  sight.  We  wan- 
dered along  at  our  sweet  will,  dawdling  as  slowly  as 
we  pleased.  The  guide  had  apparently  quite 
disappeared.  Look  where  we  would  we  could  in 
no  manner  discover  him.     At  the  next  corner  we 

72 


MOMBASA 

would  pause,  undecided  as  to  what  to  do;  there  in 
the  middle  distance  would  stand  our  friend,  smiling. 
When  he  was  sure  we  had  seen  him  and  were  about 
to  take  the  turn  properly,  he  would  disappear  again. 
Convoyed  in  this  pleasant  fashion  we  wound  and 
twisted  up  and  down  and  round  and  about  through 
the  most  appalling  maze.  We  saw  the  native  mar- 
kets with  their  vociferating  sellers  seated  cross-legged 
on  tables  behind  piles  of  fruit  or  vegetables,  while 
an  equally  vociferating  crowd  surged  up  and  down 
the  aisles.  Gray  parrots  and  little  monkeys  perched 
everywhere  about.  Billy  gave  one  of  the  monkeys 
a  banana.  He  peeled  it  exactly  as  a  man  would 
have'done,  smelled  of  it  critically,  and  threw  it  back 
at  her  in  the  most  insulting  fashion.  We  saw  also 
the  rows  of  Hindu  shops  open  to  the  street  with  their 
gaudily  dressed  children  of  blackened  eyelids,  their 
stolid  dirty  proprietors,  and  their  women  marvellous 
in  bright  silks  and  massive  bangles.  In  the  thatched 
native  quarter  were  more  of  the  fine  Swahili  women 
sitting  cross-legged  on  the  earth  under  low  verandas, 
engaged  in  different  handicrafts;  and  chickens;  and 
many  amusing  naked  children.  We  made  friends 
with  many  of  them,  communicating  by  laughter  and 
by  signs,  while  our  guide  stood  unobtrusively  in  the 
middle  distance  waiting  for  us  to  come  on. 

Just  at  sunset  he  led  us  out  to  a  great  open  space, 

73 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

with  a  tall  palm  in  the  centre  of  it  and  the  gathering 
of  a  multitude  of  people.  A  muzzein  was  clambering 
into  a  high  scaffold  built  of  poles,  whence  shortly  he 
began  to  intone  a  long-drawn-out  ^^ Allah!  Allah!  il 
Allah!"  The  coconut  palms  cut  the  sunset,  and 
the  boabab  trees  —  the  fat,  lazy  boababs  —  looked 
more  monstrous  than  ever.  We  called  our  guide 
and  conferred  on  him  the  munificient  sum  of  sixteen 
and  a  half  cents;  with  which,  apparently  much 
pleased,  he  departed.  Then  slowly  we  wandered 
back  to  the  hotel. 


74 


PART  II 
THE  SHIMBA  HILLS 


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In  the  native  quarter  of  Mombasa 


IX 
A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

MANY  months  later,  and  after  adventures  else- 
where described,*  besides  others  not  relevant 
for  the  moment,  F.,  an  Englishman,  and  I  returned 
to  Mombasa.  We  came  from  some  hundred  odd 
miles  in  the  interior  where  we  had  been  exploring 
for  the  sources  and  the  course  of  the  Tsavo  River. 
Now  our  purpose  was  to  penetrate  into  the  low,  hot 
wooded  country  along  the  coast  known  as  the  Shimba 
Hills  in  quest  of  a  rare  beast  called  the  sable  antelope. 
These  hills  could  be  approached  in  one  of  two 
ways  —  by  crossing  the  harbour,  and  then  marching 
two  days  afoot;  or  by  voyaging  up  to  the  very  end 
of  one  of  the  long  arms  of  the  sea  that  extend  many 
miles  inland.  The  latter  involved  dhows;  depen- 
dence on  uncertain  winds;  favourable  tides  and  a 
heap  of  good  luck.  It  was  less  laborious  but  most 
uncertain.  At  this  stage  of  the  plan  the  hotel 
manager  came  forward  with  the  offer  of  a  gasoline 
launch,  which  we  gladly  accepted. 

•  "Land  of  FootprinU" 

77 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  embarked  about  noon,  storing  our  native 
carriers  and  effects  aboard  a  dhow  hired  for  the 
occasion.  This  we  purposed  towing.  A  very  neatly 
uniformed  Swahili  bearing  on  his  stomach  a  highly 
polished  brass  label  as  big  as  a  door  plate — "Harbour 
Police"  —  threw  duck  fits  over  what  he  called 
overloading  the  boat.  He  knew  very  little  about 
boats,  but  threw  very  competent  duck  fits.  As  we 
did  know  something  about  boats  we  braved  unknown 
consequences  by  disregarding  him  utterly.  No 
consequences  ensued;  unless  perhaps  to  his  own 
health.  When  everything  was  aboard,  that  dhow 
was  pretty  well  down,  but  still  well  afloat.  Then  we 
white  men  took  our  places  in  the  launch. 

This  was  a  long  narrow  affair  with  a  four-cylinder 
thirty-horsepower  engine.  As  she  possessed  no 
speed  gears,  she  had  either  plunge  ahead  full  speed 
or  come  to  a  stop;  there  were  no  compromises.  Her 
steering  was  managed  by  a  tiller  instead  of  a  wheel; 
so  that  a  mere  touch  sufficed  to  swerve  her  ten  feet 
from  her  course.  As  the  dhow  was  in  no  respect 
built  on  such  nervous  lines,  she  did  occasionally 
some  fancy  and  splashing  curves. 

The  pilot  of  the  launch  turned  out  to  be  a  sandy- 
haired  Yankee  who  had  been  catching  wild  animals 
for  Barnum  &  Bailey's  Circus.  While  waiting  for 
his  ship,  he,  being  a  proverbial  handy  Yankee,  had 

78 


A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

taken  on  this  job.  He  became  quite  interested  in 
telling  us  this,  and  at  times  forgot  his  duties  at  the 
tiller.  Then  that  racing-launch  would  take  a  wild 
swoop;  the  clumsy  old  dhow  astern  would  try  vainly, 
with  much  spray  and  dangerous  careening,  to  follow; 
the  compromise  course  would  all  but  upset  her;  the 
spray  would  fly;  the  safari  boys  would  take  their 
ducking;  the  boat  boys  would  yell  and  dance  and 
lean  frantically  against  the  two  long  sweeps  with 
which  they  tried  to  steer.  In  this  wild  and  untram- 
melled fashion  we  careered  up  the  bay,  too  interested 
in  our  own  performances  to  pay  much  attention  to 
the  scenery.  The  low  shores,  with  their  coconut 
groves  gracefully  rising  above  the  mangrove  tangle, 
slipped  by;  and  the  distant,  blue  Shimba  Hills  came 
nearer. 

After  a  while  we  turned  into  a  narrower  channel 
with  a  good  many  curves,  and  a  quite  unknown 
depth  of  water.  Down  this  we  whooped  at  the  full 
speed  of  our  thirty-horsepower  engine.  Occasional 
natives,  waist  deep  and  fishing,  stared  after  us 
bung-eyed.  The  Yankee  ventured  a  guess  as  to 
how  hard  she  would  hit  on  a  mudbank.  She 
promptly  proved  his  guess  a  rank  underestimate 
by  doing  so.  We  fell  in  a  heap  on  the  bottom. 
The  dhow  bore  down  on  us  with  majestic  momentum. 
The  boat  boys  leaned  frantically  on  their  sweeps  and 

79 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

managed  just  to  avoid  us.     The  dhow  also  rammed 
the  mudbank. 

A  dozen  reluctant  boys  hopped  overboard  and 
pushed  us  off  again.  We  pursued  our  merry  way 
again.  On  either  hand  now  appeared  fish  weirs  of 
plaited  coco  fibre;  which,  being  planted  in  the  shal- 
lows, helped  us  materially  to  guess  at  the  channel. 
Naked  men,  up  to  their  shoulders  in  the  water, 
attended  to  some  mysterious  need  of  the  nets,  or 
emerged  dripping  and  sparkling  with  baskets  of 
fish  atop  their  heads.  The  channel  grew  even 
narrower,  and  the  mudbanks  more  frequent.  We 
dodged  a  dozen  in  our  headlong  course.  Our 
local  guide,  a  Swahili  in  tarboosh  and  a  beautiful 
saffron  robe,  showed  signs  of  strong  excitement. 
We  were  to  stop,  he  said,  around  the  next  bend; 
and  at  this  rate  we  never  could  stop.  The 
Yankee  remarked,  superfluously,  that  it  would  be 
handy  if  this  dod-blistered  engine  had  a  clutch; 
adding  as  an  afterthought,  that  no  matter  how  long 
he  stayed  in  the  tropics  his  nose  peeled.  We  asked 
what  we  should  do  if  we  over-carried  our  prospective 
landing  place.  He  replied  that  the  dod-blistered 
thing  did  have  a  reverse.  While  thus  conversing 
we  shot  around  a  corner  into  a  complete  cul-de-sac! 
Everything  was  shut  off  hastily,  and  an  instant  later 
we  and  the  dhow  smashed  up  high  and  dry  on  a  cozy 

80 


A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

mud  beach!  We  drew  a  deep  breath  and  looked 
around  us. 

Mangrove  thicket  to  the  edge  of  the  slimy  ooze; 
trees  behind  —  that  was  all  we  could  see.  We  gave 
our  attention  to  the  business  of  getting  our  men,  our 
effects,  and  ourselves  ashore.  The  ooze  proved  to  be 
just  above  knee  deep.  The  porters  had  a  fearful 
and  floundering  time,  and  received  much  obvious 
comment  from  us  perched  in  the  bow  of  the  launch. 
Finally  everything  was  debarked.  F.  and  I  took  off 
our  boots;  but  our  gunbearers  expressed  such  horror 
at  the  mere  thought  of  our  plunging  into  the  mud, 
that  we  dutifully  climbed  them  pick-a-back  and  were 
carried.  The  hard  shell  beach  was  a  hundred  feet 
away,  occupying  a  little  recess  where  the  persistent 
tough  mangroves  drew  back.  From  it  led  a  narrow 
path  through  the  thicket.  We  waved  and  shouted 
a  farewell  to  the  crews  of  the  launch  and  the  dhow. 

The  path  for  a  hundred  feet  was  walled  in  by  the 
mangroves  through  which  scuttled  and  rattled  the 
big  land  crabs.  Then  suddenly  we  found  ourselves 
in  a  story-book,  tropical,  paradise.  The  tall  coco 
palms  rose  tufted  above  everything;  the  fans  of  the 
younger  palms  waved  beloW;  bananas  thrust  the 
banners  of  their  broad  leaves  wherever  they  could 
find  space;  creepers  and  vines  flung  the  lush  luxuri- 
ance of  their  greenery  over  all  the  earth  and  into 

8i 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  depths  of  all  the  half-guessed  shadows.  In  no 
direction  could  one  see  unobstructed  farther  than 
twenty  feet,  except  straight  up;  and  there  one  could 
see  just  as  far  as  the  tops  of  the  palms.  It  was 
like  being  in  a  room;  a  green,  hot,  steamy,  lovely 
room.  Very  bright-coloured  birds  that  ought  really 
to  have  been  at  home  in  their  cages  fluttered  about. 

We  had  much  vigorous  clearing  to  do  to  make 
room  for  our  tents.  By  the  time  the  job  was 
finished  we  were  all  pretty  hot.  Several  of  the  boys 
made  vain  attempts  to  climb  for  nuts;  but  without 
success.  We  had  brought  them  with  us  from  the 
interior  where  coconuts  do  not  grow;  and  they  did 
not  understand  the  method.  They  could  swarm 
up  the  tall  slim  stems  all  right;  but  could  not  manage 
to  get  through  the  downward-pointing  spikes  of  the 
dead  leaves.  F.  tried  and  failed,  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  men;  but  to  the  greater  amusement  of 
myself.  I  was  a  wise  person,  and  lay  on  my  back 
on  a  canvas  cot,  so  it  was  not  much  bother  to  look 
up,  and  enjoyed  life.  Not  to  earn  absolutely  the 
stigma  of  laziness,  I  tried  to  shoot  some  nuts  down. 
This  did  not  work  either,  for  the  soft,  spongy  stems 
closed  around  the  bullet  holes.  Then  a  little 
wizened  monkey  of  a  Swahili  porter,  having  watched 
our  futile  performances  with  interest,  nonchalantly 
swarmed  up;  in  some  mysterious  manner  wriggled 

Sz 


A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

through  the  defences;  and  perched  in  the  top  whence 
he  dropped  to  us  a  dozen  big  green  nuts.  Our  men 
may  not  have  been  much  of  a  success  at  climbing 
for  nuts;  but  they  were  passed  masters  at  the  art  of 
opening  them.  Three  or  four  clips  from  their 
awkward  swordlike  pangas,  and  we  were  each  pre- 
sented with  a  clean,  beautiful,  natural  goblet  brim- 
ming full  of  a  refreshing  drink. 

About  this  time  a  fine  figure  of  a  man  drifted  into 
camp.  He  was  very  smooth-skinned,  very  dignified, 
very  venerable.  He  was  pure  Swahili,  though  of 
the  savage  branch  of  that  race,  and  had  none  of  the 
negro  type  of  countenance.  In  fact  so  like  was  he 
in  face,  hair,  short  square  beard  and  genial  dignity 
to  a  certain  great-uncle  of  mine  that  it  was  very  hard 
to  remember  that  he  had  on  only  a  small  strip  of 
cloth,  that  he  was  cherishing  as  a  great  treasure 
a  piece  of  soap  box  he  had  salvaged  from  the  shore, 
and  that  his  skin  was  red  chocolate.  I  felt  inclined 
to  talk  to  him  as  to  an  intellectual  equal,  especially 
as  he  had  a  fine  resonant  bass  voice  that  in  itself 
lent  his  remarks  some  importance.  However,  I  gave 
him  two  ordinary  wood  screws,  showed  him  how  they 
screwed  in  and  out,  and  left  him  happy. 

After  supper  the  moon  rose,  casting  shadows  of 
new  and  unknown  shapes  through  this  strangely  new 
and  unknown  forest.     A  thin  white  mist  ascending 

83 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

everywhere  from  the  soil  tempered  but  could  not 
obscure  the  white  brilliance.  The  thermometer 
stood  now  only  82;  but  the  dripping  tropical  sweat- 
bath  in  which  our  camp  was  pitched  considerably 
raised  the  sensible  heat.  A  bird  with  a  most 
diabolical  shrieking  note  cursed  in  the  shadows. 
Another,  a  pigeonlike  creature,  began  softly,  and 
continued  to  repeat  in  diminishing  energy  until  it 
seemed  to  have  run  down,  like  a  piece  of  clockwork. 

Our  way  next  morning  led  for  some  time  through 
this  lovely  but  damp  jungle.  Then  we  angled  up 
the  side  of  a  hill  to  emerge  into  the  comparatively 
open  country  atop  what  we  Westerners  would  call 
a  "hog's  back"  —  a  long,  narrow  spurlike  ridge 
mounting  slowly  to  the  general  elevation  of  the 
main  hills.  Here  were  high  green  bushes,  with  little 
free  open  passages  between  them;  and  occasionally 
meadowlike  openings  running  down  the  slopes  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  Before  us,  some  miles  distant, 
were  the  rounded  blue  hills. 

We  climbed  steadily.  It  was  still  very  early 
morning;  but  already  the  day  was  hot.  Pretty  soon 
we  saw  over  the  jungle  to  the  gleaming  waters  of 
the  inlet;  and  then  to  the  sea.  Our  "hog's  back" 
led  us  past  a  ridge  of  the  hills,  and  before  we  knew  it 
we  had  been  deposited  in  a  shallow  valley  three  or 
four  miles  between  parallel  ridges;  the  said  valley 

84 


A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

being  at  a  considerable  elevation,  and  itself  diversi- 
fied with  rolling  hills,  ravines,  meadow  land,  and 
wide  flats.  On  many  of  the  ridges  were  scattered 
coco  palms;  and  occasional  mango  groves;  while 
many  smokes  attested  the  presence  of  natives. 

These  we  found  in  shamhas  or  groups  of  little 
farms,  huddled  all  together,  with  wilderness  and 
brush  and  trees  or  the  wide-open  green  grass  lawn 
between.  The  houses  were  very  large  and  neat 
looking.  They  were  constructed  quite  ingeniously 
from  coco  branches.  Each  branch  made  one  mat. 
The  leaves  were  all  brought  over  to  the  same  side  of 
the  stem,  and  then  plaited.  The  resulting  mat  was 
then  six  or  seven  feet  long  by  twelve  to  sixteen  inches 
broad,  and  could  be  used  for  a  variety  of  purposes. 
Indeed  we  found  Melville's  chapter  in  "Typhee" 
as  to  the  various  uses  of  the  coconut  palm  by  no 
means  exaggerated.  The  nuts,  leaves,  and  fibre 
supplied  every  conceivable  human  want. 

The  natives  were  a  pleasant,  friendly,  good-looking 
lot.  In  fact  so  like  was  their  cast  of  countenance 
to  that  of  the  white-skinned  people  we  were  accus- 
tomed to  seeing  that  we  had  great  difficulty  in 
realizing  that  they  were  mere  savages,  costume  — 
or  lack  of  it  —  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 
Under  a  huge  mango  tree  two  were  engaged  in 
dividing  a   sheep.     Sixty  or   seventy  others   stood 

8s 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

solemnly  around  watching.  It  may  have  been  a 
religious  ceremony,  for  all  I  know;  but  the  affair 
looked  to  be  about  two  parts  business  to  sixty  of 
idle  and  cheerful  curiosity.  We  stopped  and  talked 
to  them  a  little,  chaffed  the  pretty  girls  —  they  were 
really  pretty  —  and  marched  on. 

About  noon  our  elegant  guide  stopped,  struck  an 
attitude,  and  pointed  with  his  silver-headed  rattan 
cane. 

"This,"  said  he,  "is  where  we  must  camp." 

We  marched  through  a  little  village.  A  family 
party  sat  beneath  the  veranda  of  a  fine  building; 
a  very  old  wrinkled  couple;  two  stalwart  beautiful 
youths;  a  young  mother  suckling  her  baby;  two 
young  girls;  and  eight  or  ten  miscellaneous  and 
naked  youngsters.  As  the  rest  of  the  village  ap- 
peared to  be  empty,  I  imagined  this  to  be  the 
caretaker's  family,  and  the  youngsters  to  belong  to 
others.  We  stopped  and  spoke,  were  answered 
cheerfully,  suggested  that  we  might  like  to  buy 
chickens,  and  offered  a  price.  Instantly  with 
a  whoop  of  joy  the  lot  of  them  were  afoot.  The  fowl 
waited  for  no  further  intimations  of  troublous  times, 
but  fled  squawking.  They  had  been  there  before. 
So  had  our  hosts;  for  inside  a  minute  they  had 
returned,  each  with  a  chicken  —  and  a  broad  grin. 

After  due  payment  we  proceeded  on  a  few  hundred 

86 


Swahili  women  at  Mombasa 


The  slope  fell  gently  away  through  a  coconut  grove 


The  camp  beneath  the  mangoes 


A  TROPICAL  JUNGLE 

yards  and  pitched  camp  beneath  two  huge  mango 
trees. 

Besides  furnishing  one  of  the  most  delicious  of 
the  tropical  fruits,  the  mango  is  also  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  trees.  It  is  tall,  spreads  very  wide,  and 
its  branches  sweep  to  within  ten  feet  of  the  ground. 
Its  perfect  symmetry  combined  with  the  size  and 
deep  green  of  its  leaves  causes  it  to  resemble,  from 
a  short  distance,  a  beautiful  green  hill.  Beneath  its 
umbrella  one  finds  dense  shade,  unmottled  by  a 
single  ray  of  sunlight,  so  that  one  can  lie  beneath  it 
in  full  confidence.  For,  parenthetically,  even  a 
single  ray  of  this  tropical  sunlight  is  to  the  unpro- 
tected a  very  dangerous  thing.  But  the  leaves  of 
the  mango  have  this  peculiarity,  which  distin- 
guishes it  from  all  other  trees  —  namely  that  they 
grow  only  at  the  very  ends  of  the  small  twigs  and 
branches.  As  these,  of  course,  grow  only  at  the 
ends  of  the  big  limbs,  it  follows  that  from  beneath 
the  mango  looks  like  a  lofty  green  dome,  a  veritable 
pantheon  of  the  forest. 

We  made  our  camp  under  one  of  these  trees;  gave 
ourselves  all  the  space  we  could  use;  and  had  plenty 
left  over  —  five  tents  and  a  cook  camp,  with  no 
crowding.  It  was  one  of  the  pleasantest  camps 
I  ever  saw.  Our  green  dome  overhead  protected 
us  absolutely  from  the  sun;  high  sweet  grass  grew  all 

87 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

about  us;  the  breeze  wandered  lazily  up  from  the 
distant  Indian  Ocean.  Directly  before  our  tent 
door  the  slope  fell  gently  away  through  a  sparse 
coconut  grove  whose  straight  stems  panelled  our 
view,  then  rose  again  to  the  clear-cut  outline  of  a 
straight  ridge  opposite.  The  crest  of  this  was  sen- 
tinelled by  tall  scattered  coconut  trees,  the  "burst- 
ing star"  pyrotechnic  effect  of  their  tops  particularly 
fine  against  the  sky. 

After  a  five  hours'  tropical  march  uphill  we  were 
glad  to  sit  under  our  green  dome,  to  look  at  our 
view,  to  enjoy  the  little  breeze,  and  to  drink  some  of 
the  coconuts  our  friends  the  villagers  brought  in. 


88 


X 

THE  SABLE 

A  BOUT  three  o'clock  I  began  to  feel  rested  and 
l\.  ambitious.  Therefore  I  called  up  our  elegant 
guide  and  Memba  Sasa,  and  set  out  on  my  first  hunt 
for  sable.  F.  was  rather  more  done  up  by  the  hard 
morning,  and  so  did  not  go  along.  The  guide  wore 
still  his  red  tarboosh,  his  dark  short  jacket, his  saffron 
yellow  nether  garment  —  it  was  not  exactly  a  skirt  — 
and  his  silver-headed  rattan  cane.  The  only  change 
he  made  was  to  tuck  up  the  skirt,  leaving  his  long 
legs  bare.  It  hardly  seemed  altogether  a  suitable 
costume  for  hunting;  but  he  seemed  to  know  what 
he  was  about. 

We  snooped  along  ridges,  and  down  into  ravines, 
and  across  guUeys  choked  with  brush.  Horrible 
thickets  alternated  and  occasionally  surrounded 
open  green  meadows  hanging  against  the  sidehills. 
As  we  proceeded  the  country  became  rougher,  the 
ravines  more  precipitous.  We  struggled  up  steep 
hills,  fairly  bucking  our  way  through  low  growth 
that  proved  all  but  impenetrable.     The  idea  was  to 

89 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

find  a  sable  feeding  in  one  of  the  little  open  glades; 
but  whenever  I  allowed  myself  to  think  of  the  many- 
adverse  elements  of  the  game,  the  chances  seemed 
very  slim.  It  took  a  half  hour  to  get  from  one 
glade  to  the  next;  there  were  thousands  of  glades; 
the  sable  is  a  rare  shy  animal  that  likes  dense  cover 
fully  as  well  if  not  better  than  the  open.  Sheer  rank 
bull  luck  alone  seemed  the  only  hope.  And  as  I  felt 
my  strength  going  in  that  cruel  struggle  against 
heavy  brush  and  steep  hills,  I  began  to  have  very 
strong  doubts  indeed  as  to  that  sable. 

For  it  was  cruel,  hard  work.  In  this  climate  one 
hailed  a  car  or  a  rickshaw  to  do  an  errand  two  blocks 
away,  and  considered  himself  quite  a  hero  if  he  took 
a  leisurely  two-mile  stroll  along  the  cliff  heads  at 
sunset.  Here  I  was,  after  a  five-hour  uphill  march, 
bucking  into  brush  and  through  country  that  would 
be  considered  difficult  going  even  in  Canada.  At 
the  end  of  twenty  minutes  my  every  garment  was 
not  wringing,  but  dripping,  wet  so  that  when  I 
carried  my  rifle  over  my  arm,  water  ran  down  the 
barrel  and  off  the  muzzle  in  a  steady  stream.  After 
a  bit  of  this  my  knees  began  to  weaken;  and  it 
became  a  question  of  saving  energy,  of  getting  along 
somehow,  and  of  leaving  the  actual  hunting  to 
Memba  Sasa  and  the  guide.  If  they  had  shown  me 
a  sable,  I  very  much  doubt  if  I  could  have  hit  it. 

90 


The  Sable 


"From  it  led  a  narrow  path  through  the  thicket' 


THE  SABLE 

However,  we  did  not  see  one;  and  I  staggered  into 
camp  at  dusk  pretty  well  exhausted.  From  the 
most  grateful  hot  bath  and  clean  clothes  I  derived 
much  refreshment.  Shortly  I  was  sitting  in  my 
canvas  chair,  sipping  a  coconut,  and  describing 
the  condition  of  affairs  to  F.,  who  was  naturally  very 
curious  as  to  how  the  trick  was  done. 

"Now,"  I  concluded,  "I  know  just  about  what 
I  can  and  what  I  cannot  do.  Three  days  more  of 
this  sort  of  work  will  feed  me  up  plenty.  If  we  do 
not  run  across  a  sable  in  that  time,  I'm  afraid  we 
don't  get  any." 

"Two  days  will  do  for  me,"  said  he. 

We  called  up  the  guide  and  questioned  him  closely. 
He  seemed  quite  confident;  and  asserted  that  in 
this  country  sable  were  found  —  when  they  were 
found  at  all,  which  was  not  often.  They  must  be 
discovered  in  the  small  grassy  openings.  We  began 
to  understand  why  so  very  few  people  get  sable. 

We  dismissed  the  guide,  and  sat  quietly  smoking 
in  the  warm  soft  evening.  The  air  was  absolutely 
still  save  for  various  night  insects  and  birds,  and 
the  weird  calling  of  natives  across  the  valleys. 
Far  out  toward  the  sea  a  thunderstorm  flashed ;  and 
after  a  long  interval  the  rumblings  came  to  us.  So 
very  distant  was  It  that  we  paid  it  little  attention, 
save  as  an  interesting  background  to  our  own  still 

91 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

evening.  Fairly  between  sentences  of  our  slow- 
conversation,  however,  it  rushed  up  to  the  zenith, 
blotting  out  the  stars.  The  tall  palms  began  to 
sway  and  rustle  in  the  forerunning  breeze.  Then 
with  a  swoop  it  was  upon  us,  a  tempest  of  fury. 
We  turned  in;  and  all  night  long  the  heavy  deluges 
of  rain  fell,  roaring  like  surf  on  an  unfriendly  coast. 

By  morning  this  had  fallen  to  a  light  steady  drizzle 
in  which  we  started  off  quite  happily.  In  this 
climate  one  likes  to  get  wet.  The  ground  was 
sodden  and  deep  with  muck.  Within  a  mile  of  camp 
we  saw  many  fresh  buffalo  tracks. 

This  time  we  went  downhill,  and  still  downhill 
through  openings  among  patches  of  great  forest 
trees.  The  new  leaves  were  just  coming  out  in 
pinks  and  russets,  so  that  the  effect  at  a  little  dis- 
tance was  almost  precisely  that  of  our  autumn 
foliage  in  the  duller  phases.  So  familiar  thus  were 
made  some  of  the  low  rounded  knolls  that  for  an 
instant  we  were  respectively  back  in  the  hills  of 
Surrey  or  Michigan  —  and  told  each  other  so. 

Thus  we  moved  slowly  out  from  the  dense  cover 
to  the  grass  openings.  Far  over  on  another  ridge 
F.  called  my  attention  to  something  jet-black  and 
indeterminate.  In  another  country  I  should  have 
named  it  as  a  charred  log  on  an  old  pine  burning; 
for  that  was   precisely   what   it   looked   like.     We 

92 


c3 


a 
o 


o 
c 


(U 

c« 

>-• 
3 
O 

C 

3 
O 


3 


S 


THE  SABLE 

glanced  at  it  casually  through  our  glasses.  It  was  a 
sable  buck  lying  down  right  out  in  the  open.  He 
was  black  and  sleek,  and  we  could  make  out  his 
sweeping  scimitar  horns. 

Memba  Sasa  and  the  Swahili  dropped  flat  on  their 
faces  while  F.  and  I  crawled  slowly  and  cautiously 
through  the  mud  until  we  had  gained  the  cover  of 
a  shallow  ravine  that  ran  in  the  beast's  general 
direction.  Noting  carefully  a  certain  small  thicket 
as  landmark,  we  stooped  and  moved  as  fast  as  we 
could  down  to  that  point  of  vantage.  There  we 
cautiously  parted  the  grasses  and  looked.  The  sable 
had  disappeared.  The  place  where  he  had  been 
lying  was  plainly  to  be  identified;  and  there  was  no 
cover  save  a  tiny  bush  between  two  and  three  feet 
high.  We  were  quite  certain  he  had  neither  seen  nor 
winded  us.  Either  he  had  risen  and  gone  forward 
into  the  ravine  up  which  we  had  made  our  stalk, 
or  else  he  had  entered  the  small  thicket.  F.  agreed 
to  stay  on  watch  where  he  was  while  I  slipped  back 
and  examined  the  earth  to  leeward  of  the  thicket. 

I  had  hardly  crawled  ten  yards,  however,  before 
the  gentle  snapping  of  F.'s  fingers  recalled  me  to 
his  side. 

"  He's  behind  that  bush,"  he  whispered  in  my  ear. 

I  looked.  The  bush  was  hardly  big  enough  to 
conceal  a  setter  dog;  and  the  sable  is  somewhat 

93 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

larger  than  our  elk.  Nevertheless  F.  insisted  that 
the  animal  was  standing  behind  it,  and  that  he  had 
caught  the  toss  of  its  head.  We  lay  still  for  some 
time,  while  the  soft,  warm  rain  drizzled  down  on  us, 
our  eyes  riveted  on  the  bush.  And  then  —  we 
caught  the  momentary  flash  of  curved  horns  as  the 
sable  tossed  his  head.  It  seemed  incredible  even 
then  that  the  tiny  bush  should  conceal  so  large  a 
beast.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  later  found  that  the 
bush  grew  on  a  slight  elevation  behind  which  was 
a  depression.  In  this  the  sable  stood,  patiently 
enduring  the  drizzle. 

We  waited  some  time  in  hopes  he  would  move 
forward  a  foot  or  so;  but  apparently  he  had  selected 
his  loafing  place  with  care,  and  liked  it.  The  danger 
of  a  shift  of  wind  was  always  present.  Finally 
I  slipped  back  over  the  brink  of  the  ravine,  moved 
three  yards  to  the  left,  and  crawled  up  through  the 
tall  dripping  grass  to  a  new  position  behind  a  little 
bush.  Cautiously  raising  my  head  I  found  I  could 
see  plainly  the  sable's  head  and  part  of  his  shoulders. 
My  position  was  cramped  and  out  of  balance  for 
offhand  shooting;  but  I  did  my  best,  and  heard 
the  loud  plunk  of  the  hit.  The  sable  made  off  at  a 
fast  though  rather  awkward  gallop,  wheeled  for  an 
instant  a  hundred  yards  farther  on,  received  another 
bullet  in  the   shoulder,   and   disappeared   over  the 

94 


THE  SABLE 

brow  of  the  hill.     We  raced  over  the  top  to  get  in 
another  shot,  and  found  him  stone  dead. 

He  was  a  fine  beast,  jet-black  in  coat  with  white 
markings  on  the  face,  red-brown  ears,  and  horns 
sweeping  up  and  back  scimitar  fashion.  He  stood 
four  feet  and  six  inches  at  the  shoulder,  and  his  horns 
were  second  best  ever  shot  in  British  East  Africa. 
This  beast  has  been  described  by  Heller  as  a  new 
subspecies,  and  named  Rooseveltii.  His  determina- 
tion was  based  upon  an  immature  buck  and  a  doe 
shot  by  Kermit  Roosevelt.  The  determination  of 
subspecies  on  so  slight  evidence  seems  to  me  un- 
scientific in  the  extreme.  While  the  immature 
males  do  exhibit  the  general  brown  tone  mainly 
relied  on  by  Mr.  Heller,  the  mature  buck  differs 
in  no  essential  from  the  type  sable.  I  find  the 
alleged  subspecies  is  not  accepted  by  European 
scientists. 


95 


XI 

A  MARCH  ALONG  THE  COAST 

I  HAD  now  a  most  comfortable  feeling  that  my 
task  was  done,  that  suddenly  the  threatening 
clouds  of  killing  work  had  been  cleared  up,  and  that 
now  I  was  privileged  to  loaf  and  invite  my  soul  on 
this  tropical  green  hilltop  while  poor  F.  put  in  the 
days  trying  to  find  another  sable.  Every  morning 
he  started  out  before  daylight.  I  could  see  the  light 
of  his  lantern  outside  the  tent;  and  I  stretched  my- 
self in  the  luxurious  consciousness  that  I  should 
hear  no  deprecating  but  insistent  "hodie*'  from  my 
boy  until  I  pleased  to  invite  it.  In  the  afternoon  or 
evening  F.  would  return,  quite  exhausted  and  drip- 
ping, with  only  the  report  of  new  country  traversed. 
No  sable;  no  tracks  of  sable;  no  old  signs,  even,  of 
sable.  Gradually  it  was  borne  in  on  me  how  lucky 
I  was  to  have  come  upon  my  magnificent  specimen 
so  promptly  and  in  such  favourable  circumstances. 

A  leisurely  breakfast  alone,  with  the  sun  climbing; 
then  the  writing  of  notes,  a  little  reading,  and 
perhaps  a  stroll  to  the  village  or  along  the  top  of  the 

96 


A  MARCH  ALONG  THE  COAST 

ridge.  At  the  heat  of  noon  a  siesta,  with  a  cool 
coconut  at  my  elbow.  The  view  was  beautiful 
on  all  sides;  our  great  tree  full  of  birds;  the  rising  and 
dying  winds  in  the  palms  like  the  gathering  oncoming 
rush  of  the  rains.  From  mountain  to  mountain 
sounded  the  wild,  far-carrying  ululations  of  the 
natives,  conveying  news  or  messages  across  the  wide 
jungle.  Toward  sunset  I  wandered  out  in  the 
groves,  enjoying  the  many  bright  flowers,  the  tall, 
sweet  grasses,  and  the  coco  palms  against  the  sky. 
Piles  of  coconuts  lay  on  the  ground,  covered  each 
with  a  leaf  plaited  in  a  peculiarly  individual  manner 
to  indicate  ownership.  Small  boys,  like  little  black 
imps,  clung  naked  halfway  up  the  slim  trunks  of 
the  palms,  watching  me  bright-eyed  above  the 
undergrowth.  In  all  directions,  crossing  and  re- 
crossing,  ran  a  maze  of  beaten  paths.  Each  led 
somewhere,  but  it  would  require  the  memory  of  — 
well,  of  a  native,  to  keep  all  their  destinations  in 
mind. 

I  used  to  follow  some  of  them  to  their  ending  in 
little  coco-leaf  houses  on  the  tops  of  knolls  or  beneath 
mangoes;  and  would  talk  with  the  people.  They 
were  very  grave  and  very  polite;  and  seemed  to  be 
living  out  their  lives  quite  correctly  according  to 
their  conceptions.  Again,  it  was  borne  in  on  me 
that  these  people  are  not  stumbling  along  the  course 

97 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

of  evolution  in  our  footsteps,  but  have  gone  as  far 
in  their  path  as  we  have  in  ours;  that  they  have 
reached  at  least  as  complete  a  correspondence  with 
their  environment  as  we  with  our  own.* 

If  F.  had  not  returned  by  the  time  I  reached  camp, 
I  would  seat  myself  in  my  canvas  chair,  and  thence 
dispense  justice,  advice,  or  medical  treatment. 
If  none  of  these  things  seemed  demanded,  I  smoked 
my  pipe.  To  me  one  afternoon  came  a  big-framed, 
old,  dignified  man,  with  the  heavy  beard,  the  really 
noble  features,  the  high  forehead  and  the  blank 
statue  eyes  of  the  blind  Homer.  He  was  led  by  a 
very  small,  very  bright-eyed  naked  boy.  At  some 
twenty  feet  distance  he  squatted  down  cross-legged 
before  me.  For  quite  five  minutes  he  sat  there 
silent,  while  I  held  down  my  camp  chair,  smoked 
and  waited.  At  last  he  spoke  in  a  rolling  deep  bass 
voice  rich  and  vibrating  —  a  delight  to  hear. 

^^ Jamho  (greeting)!"  said  he. 

^^Jambo!"  I  replied  mildly. 

Again  a  five-minute  silence.  I  had  begun  reading, 
and  had  all  but  forgotten  his  presence. 

^^ Jambo  hwana  (greeting,  master)!"  he  rolled  out. 

"Jambo!"  I  repeated. 

The  same  dignified,  unhasting  pause. 

"Jambo  hwana  ni'kubwa  (greeting  great  master)!" 

*For  a  fuller  discussion  see  "The  Land  of  Footprints." 

98 


A  MARCH  ALONG  THE  COAST 

^^Jambof^  quoth  I,  and  went  on  reading.  The 
sun  was  dropping,  but  the  old  man  seemed  in  no 
hurry. 

^''Jambo  hwana  rri'kuhwa  sana  (greeting  most 
mighty  master) !"  he  boomed  at  last. 

"/^w^^o-'"saidI. 

This  would  seem  to  strike  the  superlative,  and 
I  expected  now  that  he  would  state  his  business, 
but  the  old  man  had  one  more  shot  in  his  locker. 

^^  Jamho  hwana  rrCkuhzva  kaheesa  sana  (greeting 
mightiest  possible  master) !"  it  came. 

Then  in  due  course  he  delicately  hinted  that  a  gift 
of  tobacco  would  not  come  amiss. 

F.  returned  a  trifle  earlier  than  usual  to  admit 
that  his  quest  was  hopeless,  that  his  physical  forces 
were,  for  the  time  being,  at  an  end,  and  that  he  was 
willing  to  go  out. 

Accordingly  very  early  next  morning  we  set  out 
by  the  glimmer  of  a  lantern,  hoping  to  get  a  good 
start  on  our  journey  before  the  heat  of  the  day 
became  too  severe.  We  did  gain  something,  but 
performed  several  unnecessary  loops  and  semicircles 
in  the  maze  of  beaten  paths  before  we  finally  struck 
into  one  that  led  down  the  slope  toward  the  sea. 
Shortly  after  the  dawn  came  up  "like  thunder"  in 
its  swiftness,  followed  almost  immediately  by  the 
sun. 

99 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Our  way  now  led  along  the  wide  flat  between  the 
seashore  and  the  Shimba  Hills  in  which  we  had  been 
hunting.  A  road  ten  feet  wide  and  innocent  of 
wheels  ran  with  obstinate  directness  up  and  down 
the  slight  contours  and  through  the  bushes  and 
coconut  groves  that  lay  in  its  path.  So  mathe- 
matically straight  was  it  that  only  when  perspective 
closed  it  in,  or  when  it  dropped  over  the  summit  of 
a  little  rise,  did  the  eye  lose  the  effect  of  its  inter- 
minability.  The  country  through  which  this  road 
led  was  various  —  open  bushy  veldt  with  sparse 
trees,  dense  jungle,  coconut  groves,  tall  and  cool. 
In  the  shadows  of  the  latter  were  the  thatched  native 
villages.  To  the  left  always  ran  the  blue  Shimba 
Hills;  and  far  away  to  the  right  somewhere  we  heard 
the  grumbling  of  the  sea. 

Every  hundred  yards  or  so  we  met  somebody. 
Even  this  early  the  road  was  thronged.  By  far  the 
majority  were  the  almost  naked  natives  of  the 
district,  pleasant,  brown-skinned  people  with  good 
features.  They  carried  things.  These  things  varied 
from  great  loads  balanced  atop  to  dainty  impromptu 
baskets  woven  of  coco-leaves  and  containing  each  a 
single  coconut.  They  smiled  on  us,  returned  our 
greeting,  and  stood  completely  aside  to  let  us  pass. 
Other  wayfarers  were  of  more  importance.  Small 
groups   of   bearded    dignitaries,   either   upper-class 

lOO 


A  MARCH  ALONG  THE  COAST 

Swahili  or  pure  Arabs,  strolled  slowly  along,  appar- 
ently with  limitless  leisure,  but  evidently  bound 
somewhere,  nevertheless.  They  replied  to  our 
greetings  with  great  dignity.  Once,  also,  we  over- 
took a  small  detachment  of  Soudanese  troops  moving. 
They  were  scattered  over  several  miles  of  road. 
A  soldier,  most  impressive  and  neat  in  khaki  and 
red  tarboosh  and  sash;  then  two  or  three  of  his 
laughing,  sleek  women,  clad  in  the  thin,  patterned 
"  'Mericani,"  glittering  with  gold  ornaments;  then 
a  half  dozen  ragged  porters  carrying  official  but 
battered,  painted  wooden  kit  boxes,  or  bags,  or 
miscellaneous  curious  plunder;  then  more  troopers; 
and  so  on  for  miles.  They  all  drew  aside  for  us  most 
respectfully;  and  the  soldiers  saluted,  very  smart 
and  military. 

Under  the  broad-spreading  mangoes  near  the 
villages  we  came  upon  many  open  markets  in  full 
swing.  Each  vendor  squatted  on  his  heels  behind 
his  wares,  while  the  purchasers  or  traders  wandered 
here  and  there  making  offers.  The  actual  commerce 
compared  with  the  amount  of  laughing,  joking, 
shrieking  joy  of  the  occasion  as  one  to  a  thousand. 

Generally  three  or  four  degenerate  looking  dirty 
East  Indians  slunk  about,  very  crafty,  very  insinuat- 
ing, very  ready  and  skillful  to  take  what  advantages 
they  could.     I  felt  a  strong  desire  to  kick  every  one 

lOI 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

of  them  out  from  these  joyful  concourses  of  happy 
people.  Generally  we  sat  down  for  a  while  in  these 
markets,  and  talked  to  the  people  a  little,  and 
perhaps  purchased  some  of  the  delicious  fruit. 
They  had  a  small  delicate  variety  of  banana,  most 
wonderful,  the  like  of  which  I  have  seen  nowhere 
else.  We  bought  forty  of  these  for  a  coin  worth 
about  eight  cents.  Besides  fruit,  they  oflFered  coco- 
nuts in  all  forms,  grain,  woven  baskets,  small  articles 
of  handicraft  —  and  fish.  The  latter  were  farther 
from  the  sea  than  they  should  have  been!  These 
occasional  halts  greatly  refreshed  us  for  more  of  that 
endless  road. 

For  all  this  time  we  were  very  hot.  As  the  sun 
mounted,  the  country  fairly  steamed.  From  the 
end  of  my  rifle  barrel,  which  I  carried  across  my  fore- 
arm, a  steady  trickle  of  water  dripped  into  the  road. 
We  neither  of  us  had  a  dry  stitch  on  us;  and  our 
light  garments  clung  to  us  thoroughly  wet  through. 
At  first  we  tried  the  military  method,  and  marched 
fifty  minutes  to  rest  ten;  but  soon  discovered  that 
twenty-five  minutes'  work  to  five  minutes  off  was 
more  practical.  The  sheer  weight  of  the  sun  was 
terrific;  after  we  had  been  exposed  to  it  for  any 
great  length  of  time  —  as  across  several  wide  open 
spaces  —  we  entered  the  steaming  shade  of  the 
jungle  with  gratitude.     At  the  end  of  seven  hours, 

102 


A  MARCH  ALONG  THE  COAST 

however,  we  most  unexpectedly  came  through  a 
dense  coconut  grove  plump  on  the  banks  of  the 
harbour  at  Kilindini. 

Here,  after  making  arrangements  for  the  transport 
of  our  safari,  when  It  should  arrive,  we  entrusted 
ourselves  to  a  small  boy  and  a  cranky  boat.  An 
hour  later,  clad  in  tropical  white,  with  cool  drinks 
at  our  elbows,  we  sat  in  easy  chairs  on  the  veranda 
of  the  Mombasa  Club. 

The  clubhouse  is  built  on  a  low  cliff  at  the  water's 
edge.  It  looks  across  the  blue  waters  of  the  bay  to  a 
headland  crowned  with  coco  palms;  and  beyond 
the  headland  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  cool  trades 
sweep  across  that  veranda.  We  idly  watched  a  lone 
white  oarsman  pulling  strongly  against  the  wind 
through  the  tide  rips,  evidently  bent  on  exercise. 
We  speculated  on  the  incredible  folly  of  wanting 
exercise;  and  forgot  him.  An  hour  later  a  huge 
saffron  yellow  squall  rose  from  China  'cross  the  way, 
filled  the  world  with  an  unholy  light,  lashed  the 
reluctant  sea  to  whitecaps,  and  swooped  screaming 
on  the  coco  palms.  Police  boats  to  rescue  the  idiot 
oarsman!  Much  minor  excitement!  Great  rushing 
to  and  fro!  We  continued  to  sit  In  our  lounging 
chairs,  one  hand  on  our  cool  long  drinks. 


icu 


XII 

THE  FIRE 

WE  WERE  very  tired,  so  we  turned  in  early. 
Unfortunately  our  rooms  were  immediately 
over  the  billiard  room  where  a  bibulous  and  cosmo- 
politan lot  were  earnestly  endeavouring  to  bolster 
up  by  further  proof  the  fiction  that  a  white  man 
cannot  retain  his  health  in  the  tropics.  The  process 
was  pretty  rackety,  and  while  it  could  not  keep  us 
awake,  it  prevented  us  from  falling  thoroughly 
asleep.  At  length,  and  suddenly,  the  props  of  noise 
fell  away  from  me,  and  I  sank  into  a  grateful,  pro- 
found abyss. 

Almost  at  once,  however,  I  was  dragged  back  to 
consciousness.     Mohamet  stood  at  my  bedside. 

"Bwana,"  he  proffered  to  my  rather  angry  in- 
quiry, "all  the  people  have  gone  to  the  fire.  It  is  a 
very  large  fire.     I  thought  you  would  like  to  see  it." 

I  glanced  out  of  the  window  at  the  reddening  sky, 
thrust  my  feet  into  a  pair  of  slippers  and  went  forth 
in  my  pajamas  to  see  what  I  could  see. 

We  threaded  our  way  through  many  narrow  dark 
204 


THE  FIRE 

and  deserted  streets,  beneath  balconies  that  over- 
hung, past  walls  over  which  nodded  tufted  palms, 
until  a  loud  and  increasing  murmuring  told  us  we 
were  nearing  the  centre  of  disturbance.  Shortly  we 
came  to  the  outskirts  of  the  excited  crowd,  and 
beyond  them  saw  the  red  furnace  glow. 

^^Semeelay!  Semeelayr'  warned  Mohamet  authori- 
tatively; and  the  bystanders,  seeing  a  white  face, 
gave  me  passage. 

All  of  picturesque  Mombasa  was  afoot  —  Arabs, 
Swahilis,  Somalis,  savages,  Indians  —  the  whole  lot. 
They  moved  restlessly  in  the  narrow  streets;  they 
hung  over  the  edges  of  balconies;  they  peered  from 
barred  windows;  interested  dark  faces  turned  up 
everywhere  in  the  flickering  light.  One  woman, 
a  fine,  erect  biblical  figure,  stood  silhouetted  on  a 
flat  housetop  and  screamed  steadily.  I  thought 
she  must  have  at  least  one  baby  in  the  fire,  but  it 
seems  she  was  only  excited. 

The  fire  was  at  present  confined  to  two  buildings, 
in  which  it  was  raging  fiercely.  Its  spread,  however, 
seemed  certain;  and,  as  It  was  surrounded  by  ware- 
houses of  valuable  goods,  moving  was  in  full  swing. 
A  frantic  white  man  stood  at  the  low  doorway  of  one 
of  these  dungeonlike  stores  hastening  the  movements 
of  an  unending  string  of  porters.  As  each  emerged 
bearing  a  case  on  his  shoulder,  the  white  man  urged 

105 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

him  to  a  trot.  I  followed  up  the  street  to  see  where 
these  valuables  were  being  taken,  and  what  were  the 
precautions  against  theft.  Around  the  next  corner, 
it  seemed.  As  each  excited  perspiring  porter  trotted 
up,  he  heaved  his  burden  from  his  head  or  his 
shoulders,  and  promptly  scampered  back  for  another 
load.  They  were  loyal  and  zealous  men;  but  their 
headpieces  were  deficient  inside.  For  the  burdens 
that  they  saved  from  the  fire  happened  to  be  cases 
of  gin  in  bottles.  At  least,  it  was  in  bottles  until 
the  process  of  saving  had  been  completed.  Then  it 
trickled  merrily  down  the  gutter.  I  went  back  and 
told  the  frantic  white  man  about  it.  He  threw  up 
both  hands  to  heaven  and  departed. 

By  dodging  from  street  to  street  Mohamet  and 
I  succeeded  in  circling  the  whole  disturbance,  and  so 
came  at  length  to  a  public  square.  Here  was  a  vast 
throng,  and  a  very  good  place,  so  I  climbed  atop  a 
rescued  bale  of  cotton  the  better  to  see. 

Mombasa  has  no  water  system,  but  a  wonderful 
corps  of  water-carriers.  These  were  in  requisition 
to  a  man.  They  disappeared  down  through  the 
wide  gates  of  the  customs  enclosure,  their  naked, 
muscular,  light-brown  bodies  gleaming  with  sweat, 
their  Standard  Oil  cans  dangling  merrily  at  the  ends 
of  slender  poles.  A  moment  later  they  emerged,  the 
cans  full  of  salt  water  from  the  bay,  the  poles  seeming 

io6 


THE  FIRE 

fairly  to  bite  Into  their  bare  shoulders  as  they  teetered 
along  at  their  rapid,  swaying,  burdened  gait. 

The  moment  they  entered  the  square  they  were 
seized  upon  from  a  dozen  different  sides.  There  was 
no  system  at  all.  Every  owner  of  property  was  out 
for  himself,  and  intended  to  get  as  much  of  the 
precious  water  as  he  could.  The  poor  carriers  were 
pulled  about,  jerked  violently  here  and  there, 
besought,  commanded  to  bring  their  loads  to  one 
or  the  other  of  the  threatened  premises.  Vocifera- 
tions, accusations,  commands  arose  to  screams. 
One  old  graybeard  occupied  himself  by  standing 
on  tiptoe  and  screeching,  "Maji!  majil  majif  at 
the  top  of  his  voice,  as  though  that  added  anything 
to  the  visible  supply.  The  water-carrier  of  the 
moment  disappeared  in  a  swirl  of  excited  contestants. 
He  was  attending  strictly  to  business,  looking 
neither  to  right  nor  to  left,  pushing  forward  as 
steadily  as  he  could,  gasping  mechanically  his  cus- 
tomary warning:  ^^Semeelay!  Semeelayr^  Some- 
how, eventually,  he  and  his  comrades  must  have  got 
somewhere;  for  after  an  interval  he  returned  with 
empty  buckets.  Then  every  blessed  fool  of  a 
property  owner  took  a  whack  at  his  bare  shoulders 
as  he  passed,  shrieking  hysterically,  '^Haya!  hay  a! 
pesil  pesir^  and  the  like  to  men  already  doing  their 
best.     It  was  a  grand  sight! 

107 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

In  the  meantime  the  fire  itself  was  roaring  away. 
The  old  graybeard  suddenly  ceased  crying  maji, 
and  darted  forward  to  where  I  stood  on  the  bale  of 
cotton.  With  great  but  somewhat  flurried  respect 
he  begged  me  to  descend.  I  did  so,  somewhat 
curious  as  to  what  he  might  be  up  to,  for  the  cotton 
was  at  least  two  hundred  feet  from  the  fire.  Im- 
mediately he  began  to  tug  and  heave;  the  bale  was 
almost  beyond  his  strength;  but  after  incredible 
exertions  he  lifted  one  side  of  it,  poised  it  for  a 
moment,  got  his  shoulder  under  it,  and  rolled  it 
over  once.  Then  he  darted  away  and  resumed  his 
raucous  crying  for  water.  I  climbed  back  again. 
Thrice  more,  at  intervals,  he  repeated  this  per- 
formance. The  only  result  was  to  daub  with  mud 
every  possible  side  of  that  bale.  I  hope  it  was  his 
property. 

You  must  remember  that  I  was  observing  the 
heavy  artillery  of  the  attack  on  the  conflagration. 
Individual  campaigns  were  everywhere  in  progress. 
I  saw  one  man  standing  on  the  roof  of  a  threatened 
building.  He  lowered  slowly,  hand  over  hand,  a 
small  tea  kettle  at  the  end  of  a  string.  This  was 
filled  by  a  friend  in  the  street,  whereupon  the  man 
hauled  it  up  again,  slowly,  hand  over  hand,  and 
solemnly  dashed  its  contents  into  the  mouth  of  the 
furnace.     Thousands   of   other   men   on    roofs,    in 

io8 


THE  FIRE 

balconies,  on  the  street,  were  doing  the  same  thing. 
Some  had  ordinary  cups  which  they  filled  a  block 
away!  The  limit  of  efficiency  was  a  pail.  Nobody 
did  anything  in  concert  with  anybody  else.  The  sight 
of  these  thousands  of  little  midgets,  each  with  his 
teacup,  or  his  teapot,  or  his  tin  pail,  throwing  each 
his  mite  of  water  —  for  which  he  had  to  walk  a  block 
or  so  —  into  the  ravening  roaring  furnace  of  flame 
was  a  sight  as  pathetic  or  as  comical  as  you  please. 
They  did  not  seem  to  have  a  show  in  the  world. 

Nevertheless,  to  my  vast  surprise,  the  old  system 
of  the  East  won  out  at  last.  The  system  of  the  East 
is  that  if  you  get  enough  labour  you  can  accomplish 
anything.  Little  by  little  those  thousands  of  tea- 
kettles of  water  had  their  aggregate  effect.  The 
flames  fed  themselves  out  and  died  down  leaving  the 
contiguous  buildings  unharmed  save  for  a  little 
scorching.  In  two  hours  all  was  safe,  and  I  returned 
to  the  hotel,  having  enjoyed  myself  hugely.  I  had, 
however,  in  the  interest  and  excitement,  forgotten 
how  deadly  is  the  fever  of  Mombasa.  Midnight  in 
pajamas  did  the  business;  and  shortly  I  paid  well 
for  the  fun. 


109 


PART  III 
NAIROBI 


XIII 
UP  FROM  THE  COAST 

NAIROBI  is  situated  at  the  far  edge  of  the  great 
Athi  Plains  and  just  below  a  range  of  hills. 
It  might  about  as  well  have  been  anywhere  else;  and 
perhaps  better  a  few  miles  back  in  the  higher  country. 
Whether  the  funny  little  narrow  guage  railroad 
exists  for  Nairobi,  or  Nairobi  for  the  railroad,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  say.  Between  Mombasa  and 
this  interior  placed-to-order  town,  certainly,  there  is 
nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  either  in  passengers  or 
freight,  to  justify  building  the  line.  That  distance 
is  if  I  remember  it  correctly  about  three  hundred 
and  twenty  miles.  A  dozen  or  so  names  of  stations 
appear  on  the  map.  These  are  water  tanks,  tele- 
graph stations,  or  small  groups  of  tents  in  which 
dwell  black  labourers  —  on  the  railroad. 

The  way  climbs  out  from  the  tropical  steaming 
coast  belt  to  and  across  the  high  scrub  desert,  and 
then  through  lower  rounded  hills  to  the  plains. 
On  the  desert  is  only  dense  thorn  brush  —  and  a 
possibility  that  the  newcomer,  if  he  looks  very  closely, 

113 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

may  to  his  excitement  glimpse  his  first  game  in 
Africa.  This  is  a  stray  duiker  or  so,  tiny  grass 
antelopes  a  foot  high.  Also  in  this  land  is  Thirst; 
so  that  alongside  the  locomotives,  as  they  struggle 
up  grade,  in  bad  seasons,  run  natives  to  catch 
precious  drops.*  An  impalpable  red  dust  sifts 
through  and  into  everything.  When  one  descends 
at  Voi  for  dinner  he  finds  his  fellow  travellers  have 
changed  complexion.  The  pale  clerk  from  indoor 
Mombasa  has  put  on  a  fine  healthy  sunburn;  and  the 
company  in  general  present  a  rich  out-of-doors 
bloom.  A  chance  dab  with  a  white  napkin  comes 
away  like  fresh  paint,  however. 

You  clamber  back  into  the  compartment,  with  its 
latticed  sun  shades  and  its  smoked  glass  windows; 
you  let  down  the  narrow  canvas  bunk;  you  unfold 
your  rug,  and  settle  yourself  for  repose.  It  is  a 
difficult  matter.  Everything  you  touch  is  gritty. 
The  air  is  close  and  stifling,  like  the  smoke-charged 
air  of  a  tunnel.  If  you  try  to  open  a  window  you 
are  suffocated  with  more  of  the  red  dust.  At  last 
you  fall  into  a  doze;  to  awaken  nearly  frozen!  The 
train  has  climbed  into  what  is,  after  weeks  of  the 
tropics,  comparative  cold;  and  if  you  have  not  been 
warned  to  carry  wraps,  you  are  in  danger  of  con- 
gestions. 

*The  Government  does  much  nowadays  by  means  of  tank  cars. 

114 


UP  FROM  THE  COAST 

The  gray  dawn  comes;  and  shortly,  in  the  sudden 
tropical  fashion,  the  full  light.  You  look  out  on  a 
wide  smiling  grass  country,  with  dips  and  swales, 
and  brushy  river  bottoms,  and  long  slopes  and  hills 
thrusting  up  in  masses  from  down  below  the  horizon, 
and  singly  here  and  there  in  the  immensities  nearer 
at  hand.  The  train  winds  and  doubles  on  itself 
up  the  gentle  slopes  and  across  the  imperceptibly 
rising  plains.  But  the  interest  is  not  in  these  wide 
prospects,  beautiful  and  smiling  as  they  may  be, 
but  in  the  game.  It  is  everywhere.  Far  in  the 
distance  the  herds  twinkle,  half  guessed  in  the 
shimmer  of  the  bottom  lands  or  dotting  the  sides 
of  the  hills.  Nearer  at  hand  it  stares  as  the  train 
rumbles  and  sways  laboriously  past.  Occasionally 
it  even  becomes  necessary  to  whistle  aside  some 
impertinent  kongoni  that  has  placed  himself  between 
the  metals!  The  newcomer  has  but  a  theoretical 
knowledge  at  best  of  all  these  animals;  and  he  is 
intensely  interested  in  identifying  the  various 
species.  The  hartebeeste  and  the  wildebeeste  he 
learns  quickly  enough;  and  of  course  the  zebra  and 
the  giraffe  are  unmistakable;  but  the  smaller  gazelles 
are  legitimate  subjects  for  discussion.  The  wonder 
of  the  extraordinary  abundance  of  these  wild  animals 
mounts  as  the  hours  slip  by.  At  the  stops  for  water 
or    for    orders    the    passengers    gather    from    their 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

different  compartments  to  detail  excitedly  to  each 
other  what  they  have  seen.  There  is  always  an 
honest  super-enthusiast  who  believes  he  has  seen 
rhinoceros,  lions,  or  leopards.  He  is  looked  upon 
with  envy  by  the  credulous,  and  with  exasperation 
by  all  others. 

So  the  little  train  puffs  and  tugs  along.  Suddenly 
it  happens  on  a  barbed-wire  fence,  and  immediately 
after  enters  the  town  of  Nairobi.  The  game  has 
persisted  right  up  to  that  barbed  wire  fence. 

That  station  platform  is  thronged  with  a  hetero- 
geneous multitude  of  people.  The  hands  of  a  dozen 
raggetty  black  boys  are  stretched  out  for  luggage. 
The  newcomer  sees  with  delight  a  savage  with  a  tin 
can  in  his  stretched  ear  lobe;  another  with  a  set  of 
wooden  skewers  set  fanwise  around  the  edge  of  the 
ear;  he  catches  a  glimpse  of  a  beautiful  naked 
creature,  very  proud,  very  decorated  with  beads  and 
heavy  polished  wire.  Then  he  is  ravished  away 
by  the  friend,  or  agent,  or  hotel  representative  who 
has  met  him,  and  hurried  out  through  the  gates 
between  the  impassive  and  dignified  Sikh  sentries 
to  the  hack.  I  believe  nobody  but  the  newcomer 
ever  rides  in  the  hack;  and  then  but  once,  from  the 
station  to  the  hotel.  After  that  he  uses  rickshaws. 
In  fact  it  is  probable  that  the  hack  is  maintained 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  giving  the  newcomer  a  grand 

ii6 


Masai  women  at  a  station  of  the  Uganda  Railroad 


Train  on  the  Uganda  Railway 


o 


c 


3 

I 

lU 

0 

o 


UP  FROM  THE  COAST 

and  impressive  entrance.  This  brief  fleeting  quarter 
hour  of  glory  is  unique  and  passes.  It  is  like  crossing 
the  Line,  or  the  first  kiss,  something  that  in  its 
nature  cannot  be  repeated. 

The  hack  was  once  a  noble  vehicle,  compounded 
of  opulent  curves,  with  a  very  high  driver's  box  in 
front,  a  little  let-down  bench,  and  a  deep  luxurious 
shell-shaped  back  seat  reclining  in  which  one 
received  the  adulation  of  the  populace.  That  was 
in  its  youth.  Now  in  its  age  the  varnish  is  gone; 
the  upholstery  of  the  back  seat  frayed;  the  uphol- 
stery of  the  small  seat  seat  lacking  utterly,  so  that 
one  sits  on  bare  boards.  In  place  of  two  dignifiedly 
spirited  fat  white  horses,  it  is  drawn  by  two  very 
small  mules  in  a  semi-detached  position  far  ahead. 
And  how  it  rattles ! 

Between  the  station  and  the  hotel  at  Nairobi  is  a 
long,  straight,  wide,  well-made  street,  nearly  a  mile 
long,  and  bordered  by  a  double  row  of  young 
eucalyptus.  These  latter  have  changed  the  main 
street  of  Nairobi  from  the  sunbaked  array  of  galvan- 
ized houses  described  by  travellers  of  a  half  dozen 
years  back  to  a  thoroughfare  of  great  charm.  The 
iron  houses  and  stores  are  now  in  a  shaded  back- 
ground; and  the  attention  is  freed  to  concentrate 
on  the  vivid  colouring,  the  incessant  movement,  the 
great  interest  of  the  people  moving  to  and   fro. 

"7 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

When  I  left  Nairobi  the  authorities  were  considering 
the  removal  of  these  trees  because  one  row  of  them 
had  been  planted  slightly  within  the  legal  limits  of 
the  street.  What  they  could  interfere  with  in  a 
practically  horseless  town  I  cannot  imagine;  but 
trust  this  stupidity  gave  way  to  second  thought. 

The  hack  rattles  and  careers  up  the  the  length  of 
the  street,  scattering  rickshaws  and  pedestrians 
from  before  its  triumphant  path.  To  the  left  opens  a 
wide  street  of  little  booths  under  iron  awnings,  hung 
with  gay  colour  and  glittering  things.  The  street 
is  thronged  from  side  to  side  with  natives  of  all  sorts. 
It  whirls  past;  and  shortly  after  the  hack  dashes 
inside  a  fence  and  draws  up  before  the  low  stone- 
built,  wide-verandaed  hotel. 


ii8 


XIV 

A  FIAT  TOWN 

IT  HAS  been,  as  I  have  said,  the  fashion  to  speak 
of  Nairobi  as  an  ugly  little  town.  This  was 
probably  true  when  the  first  corrugated  iron  houses 
huddled  unrelieved  near  the  railway  station.  It  is 
not  true  now.  The  lower  part  of  town  is  well  planted 
and  is  always  picturesque  as  long  as  its  people  are 
astir.  The  white  population  have  built  in  the 
wooded  hills  some  charming  bungalows  surrounded  by 
bright  flowers  or  lost  amid  the  trunks  of  great  trees. 
From  the  heights  on  which  is  Government  House 
one  can,  with  a  glass,  watch  the  game  herds  feeding 
on  the  plains.  Two  Country  Clubs  with  the  usual 
games  of  golf,  polo,  tennis  —  especially  tennis  — 
football  and  cricket;  a  weekly  hunt,  with  jackals 
instead  of  foxes;  a  bungalow  town  club  on  the  slope 
of  a  hill;  an  electric  light  system;  a  race  track;  a  rifle 
range;  frilly  parasols  and  the  latest  fluffiest  summer 
toilettes  from  London  and  Paris  —  I  mention  a  few 
of  the  refinements  of  civilization  that  offer  to  the 
traveller  some  of  the  most  piquant  of  contrasts. 

119 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

For  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Nairobi,  in  spite 
of  these  things  —  due  to  the  direct  but  slender 
thread  of  communication  by  railroad  and  ships  — 
is  actually  in  the  middle  of  an  African  wilderness; 
is  a  black  man's  town,  as  far  as  numbers  go.* 

The  game  feeds  to  its  very  outskirts,  even  wanders 
into  the  streets  at  night.f  Lions  may  be  heard 
roaring  within  a  mile  or  so  of  town;  and  leopards 
occasionally  at  night  come  on  the  verandas  of  the 
outlying  dwellings.  Naked  savages  from  the  jungle 
untouched  by  civilization  in  even  the  minutest 
particular  wander  the  streets  unabashed. 

It  is  this  constantly  recurring,  sharply  drawn 
contrast  that  gives  Nairobi  its  piquant  charm. 
As  one  sits  on  the  broad  hotel  veranda  a  constantly 
varied  pageant  passes  before  him.  A  daintily  dressed, 
fresh-faced  Englishwoman  bobs  by  in  a  smart  rick- 
shaw drawn  by  two  uniformed  runners;  a  Kikuyu, 
annolnted,  curled,  naked,  brass  adorned,  teeters 
along,  an  expression  of  satisfaction  on  his  face;  a 
horseman,  well  appointed,  trots  briskly  by  followed 
by  his  loping  syce;  a  string  of  skin-clad  women,  their 
heads  fantastically  shaved,  heavily  ornamented, 
lean  forward  under  the  burden  of  firewood  for  the 
market;  a  beautiful  baby  in  a  frilled  baby  cab  is 

*Fiftcen  hundred  whites  to  twelve  thousand  natives,  approximately, 
frhis  happened  twice  while  I  was  in  the  country. 

120 


A  FIAT  TOWN 

propelled  by  a  tall,  solemn,  fine-looking  black  man 
in  white  robe  and  cap;  the  driver  of  a  high  cart  tools 
his  animal  past  a  creaking,  clumsy,  two-wheeled 
wagon  drawn  by  a  pair  of  small  humpbacked  native 
oxen.  And  so  it  goes,  all  day  long,  without  end. 
The  public  rickshaw  boys  just  across  the  way  chatter 
and  game  and  quarrel  and  keep  a  watchful  eye  out 
for  a  possible  patron  on  whom  to  charge  vociferously 
at  full  tilt.  Two  or  three  old-timers  with  white 
whiskers  and  red  faces  continue  to  slaughter  thou- 
sands and  thousands  and  thousands  of  lions  from 
the  depths  of  their  easy  chairs. 

The  stone  veranda  of  that  hotel  is  a  very  interest- 
ing place.  Here  gather  men  from  all  parts  of  East 
Africa,  from  Uganda,  and  the  jungles  of  the  Upper 
Congo.  At  one  time  or  another  all  the  famous 
hunters  drop  into  its  canvas  chairs  —  Cuninghame, 
Allan  Black,  Judd,  Outram,  Hoey,  and  the  others; 
white  traders  with  the  natives  of  distant  lands; 
owners  of  farms  experimenting  bravely  on  a  greater 
or  lesser  scale  in  a  land  whose  difficulties  are  just 
beginning  to  be  understood;  great  naturalists  and 
scientists  from  the  governments  of  the  earth,  eager 
to  observe  and  collect  in  this  interesting  and  teeming 
fauna;  and  sportsmen"  just  out  and  full  of  inter- 
est or  just  returned  and  modestly  important.  More 
absorbing  conversation  can  be  listened  to  on  this 

121 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

veranda  than  in  any  other  one  place  in  the  world. 
The  gathering  is  cosmopolitan;  it  is  representative  of 
the  most  active  of  every  social,  political,  and  racial 
element;  it  has  done  things ;  it  contemplates  vital  prob- 
lems from  the  vantage  ground  of  experience.  The  talk 
veers  from  pole  to  pole  —  and  returns  always  to  lions. 

Every  little  while  a  native  —  a  raw  savage  — 
comes  along  and  takes  up  a  stand  just  outside  the 
railing.  He  stands  there  mute  and  patient  for  five 
minutes  —  a  half  hour  —  until  some  one,  any  one, 
happens  to  notice  him. 

*^N^jo!  —  come  here!"  commands  this  person. 

The  savage  proffers  a  bit  of  paper  on  which  is  writ- 
ten the  name  of  the  one  with  whom  he  has  business. 

^^Nenda  oficie!^^  indicates  the  charitable  person 
waving  his  hand  toward  the  hotel  office.  Then,  and 
not  until  this  permission  has  been  given  by  some  one, 
dares  the  savage  cross  the  threshold  to  do  his  errand. 

If  the  messenger  happens  to  be  a  trained  houseboy, 
however,  dressed  in  his  uniform  of  khaki  or  his  more 
picturesque  white  robe  and  cap,  he  is  privileged  to 
work  out  his  own  salvation.  And  behind  the  hotel 
are  rows  and  rows  of  other  boys,  each  waiting 
patiently  the  pleasure  of  his  especial  bzuana  loung- 
ing at  ease  after  strenuous  days.  At  the  drawling 
shout  of  "boy!"  one  of  them  instantly  departs  to 
find  out  which  particular  boy  is  wanted. 

122 


A  FIAT  TOWN 

The  moment  any  white  man  walks  to  the  edge  of 
the  veranda  a  half  dozen  of  the  rickshaws  across  the 
street  career  madly  around  the  corners  of  the  fence, 
bumping,  colliding,  careening  dangerously,  to  drop 
beseechingly  in  serried  confusion  close  around  the 
step.  The  rickshaw  habit  is  very  strong  in  Nairobi. 
If  a  man  wants  to  go  three  blocks  down  the  street, 
he  takes  a  rickshaw  for  that  stupendous  journey. 
There  is  in  justification  the  legend  that  the  white 
man  should  not  exert  himself  in  the  tropics.  I  fell 
into  the  custom  of  the  country  until  I  reflected  that 
it  would  hardly  be  more  fatal  for  me  to  walk  a  half 
hour  in  the  streets  of  Nairobi  than  to  march  six  or 
seven  hours  —  as  I  often  did  —  when  on  safari  or 
in  the  hunting  field.  After  that  I  got  a  little  exercise 
to  the  vast  scandal  of  the  rickshaw  boys.  In  fact, 
so  unusual  was  my  performance  that  at  first  I  had 
fairly  to  clear  myself  a  way  with  my  kiboko.  After 
a  few  experiences  they  concluded  me  a  particularly 
crazy  person  and  let  me  alone. 

Rickshaws,  however,  are  very  efficient  and  very 
cheap.  The  runners  two  in  number,  are  lithe  little 
round-headed  Kavirondos,  generally,  their  heads 
shaved  to  leave  a  skullcap,  clad  in  scant  ragged 
garments,  and  wearing- each  an  anklet  of  little  bells. 
Their  passion  for  ornament  they  confine  to  small 
bright  things  in  their  hair  and  ears.     They  run  easily, 

123 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

with  a  very  long  stride.  Even  steep  hills  they 
struggle  up  somehow,  zigzagging  from  one  side  of 
the  road  to  the  other,  edging  along  an  inch  or  so  at  a 
time.  In  such  places  I  should  infinitely  have  pre- 
ferred to  have  walked,  but  that  would  have  lost  me 
caste  everywhere.  There  are  limits  even  to  a  crazy 
man's  idiosyncrasies.  For  that  reason  I  never 
thoroughly  enjoyed  rickshaws;  save  along  the  level 
ways  with  bells  jingling  and  feet  pat-patting  a  rapid 
tune.  Certainly  I  did  not  enjoy  them  going  down 
the  steep  hills.  The  boy  between  the  shafts  in  front 
hits  the  landscape  about  every  forty  feet.  I  do  not 
really  object  to  sudden  death;  but  this  form  of  it 
seemed  unfair  to  some  poor  hungry  lion. 

However  the  winding  smooth  roads  among  the 
forested,  shaded  bungalows  of  the  upper  part  of 
town  were  very  attractive,  especially  toward  evening. 
At  that  time  the  universal  sun  helmet  or  double 
terai  could  be  laid  aside  for  straw  hats,  cloth  caps,  or 
bare  heads.  People  played  the  more  violent  games, 
or  strolled  idly.  At  the  hotel  there  was  now  a  good 
deal  of  foolish  drinking;  foolish,  because  in  this 
climate  it  is  very  bad  for  the  human  system,  and 
in  these  surroundings  of  much  interest  and  excite- 
ment the  relief  of  its  exaltation  from  monotony  or 
ennui  or  routine  could  hardly  be  required. 


124 


"Savages  from  the  jufigle  untouched  by  civilization 
wander  the  streets  unabashed" 


c 

a 
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o 

C/2 


9 


•i 

o 

•4-1 

a 
.3 


u 

■> 
a 
o 
U 


XV 
PEOPLE 

CONSIDERED  as  a  class  rather  than  as  indiv- 
iduals the  dark-skinned  population  is  easily  the 
more  interesting.  Considered  as  individuals,  the  con- 
verse is  true.  Men  like  Sir  Percy  Girouard,  Hobley, 
Jackson,  Lord  Delamere,  McMillan,  Cuninghame, 
Allan  Black,  Leslie  Tarleton,  Vanderweyer,  the  Hill 
cousins.  Home,  and  a  dozen  others  are  nowhere  else 
to  be  met  in  so  small  a  community.  But  the  whites 
have  developed  nothing  in  their  relations  one  to  an- 
other essentially  different.  The  artisan  and  shop- 
keeping  class  well  on  the  flats;  the  Government 
people  and  those  of  military  connections  live  on  the 
heights  one  side  of  the  little  stream;  the  civil-service 
and  bigger  business  men  among  the  hills  on  the  other. 
Between  them  all  is  a  little  jealousy,  and  contempt, 
and  condescension;  just  as  there  is  jealousy,  and  con- 
tempt, and  condescension  elsewhere.  They  are  pleas- 
ant people,  and  hospitable,  and  some  of  them  very 
distinguished  in  position  or  achievement;  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  I  have  good  friends  among  them. 

But  the  native  is  tHe  joy,  and  the  never-ceasing 

125 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

delight.  For  his  benefit  is  the  wide,  glittering, 
colourful,  unsanitary  bazaar,  with  its  dozens  of  little 
open-air  veranda  shops,  its  "hotels"  where  he  can 
sit  in  a  real  chair  and  drink  real  tea,  its  cafes,  and 
the  dark  mysteries  of  its  more  doubtful  amusements. 
The  bazaar  is  whack  in  the  middle  of  town,  just 
where  it  ought  not  to  be,  and  it  is  constantly  being 
quarantined,  and  threatened  with  removal.  It 
houses  a  large  population  mysteriously,  for  it  is  of 
slight  extent.  Then  on  the  borders  of  town  are  the 
two  great  native  villages  —  one  belonging  to  the 
Somalis;  and  the  other  hospitably  accommodating 
the  swarms  of  caravan  porters  and  their  families. 
For,  just  as  in  old  days  Mombasa  and  Zanzibar  used 
to  be  the  points  from  which  caravans  into  the  interior 
would  set  forth,  now  Nairobi  outfits  the  majority 
of  expeditions.  Probably  ten  thousand  picked 
natives  of  various  tribes  are  engaged  in  the  pro- 
fession. Of  course  but  a  small  proportion  of  this 
number  is  ever  at  home  at  any  one  time;  but  the 
village  is  a  large  one.  Both  these  villages  are  built 
in  the  native  style,  of  plaster  and  thatch;  have  their 
own  headman  government  —  under  supervision  — 
and  are  kept  pretty  well  swept  out  and  tidy.  Be- 
side these  three  main  gathering  places  are  many 
camps  and  " shambas^^*  scattered  everywhere;  and 

*Native  farmlcts,  generally  temporary. 

126 


PEOPLE 

the  back  country  counts  millions  of  raw  jungle 
savages,  only  too  glad  to  drift  in  occasionally  for  a 
look  at  the  metropolis. 

At  first  the  newcomer  is  absolutely  bewildered  by 
the  variety  of  these  peoples;  but  after  a  little  he 
learns  to  differentiate.  The  Somalis  are  perhaps 
the  first  recognizable,  with  their  finely  chiselled, 
intelligent,  delicate  brown  features,  their  slender 
forms,  and  their  strikingly  picturesque  costumes  of 
turbans,  flowing  robes,  and  embroidered  sleeveless 
jackets.  Then  he  learns  to  distinguish  the  savage 
from  the  sophisticated  dweller  of  the  town.  Later 
comes  the  identification  of  the  numerous  tribes. 

The  savage  comes  in  just  as  he  has  been  for, 
ethnologists  alone  can  guess,  how  many  thousands 
of  years.  He  is  too  old  an  institution  to  have  been 
affected  as  yet  by  this  tiny  spot  of  modernity  in  the 
middle  of  the  wilderness.  As  a  consequence  he 
startles  the  newcomer  even  more  than  the  sight  of 
giraffes  on  the  skyline. 

When  the  shenzi  —  wild  man  —  comes  to  town 
he  gathers  in  two  or  three  of  his  companions,  and 
presents  himself  as  follows:  His  hair  has  been 
grown  quite  long,  then  gathered  in  three  tight  pig- 
tails wound  with  leather,  one  of  which  hangs  over 
his  forehead,  and  the  otlier  two  over  his  ears.  The 
entire  head  he  has  then  annointed  with  a  mixture 

127 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

of  castor  oil  and  a  bright  red  colouring  earth.  This 
is  wiped  away  evenly  all  around  the  face,  about  two 
inches  below  the  hair,  to  leave  a  broad,  bandlike, 
glistening  effect  around  the  entire  head.  The  ears 
are  most  marvellous.  From  early  youth  the  lobes 
have  been  stretched,  until  at  last  they  have  become 
like  two  long  elastic  loops,  hanging  down  upon  the 
shoulders,  and  capable  of  accommodating  anything 
up  to  and  including  a  tomato  can.  When  in  fatigue 
uniform  these  loops  are  caught  up  over  the  tops  of  the 
ears;  but  on  dress  parade  they  accommodate  almost 
anything  considered  ornamental.  I  have  seen  a 
row  of  safety  pins  clasped  in  them  or  a  number  of 
curtain  rings;  or  a  marmalade  jar,  or  the  glittering 
cover  of  a  tobacco  tin.  The  edges  of  the  ears,  all 
around  to  the  top,  are  pierced.  Then  the  inser- 
tion of  a  row  of  long,  white,  wooden  skewers  gives 
one  a  peculiarly  porcupinish  look;  or  a  row  of  little 
brass  danglers  hints  of  wealth.  Having  thus 
finished  off  his  head,  your  savage  clasps  around  his 
neck  various  strings  of  beads;  or  collars  of  iron  or 
copper  wire,  polished  to  the  point  of  glitter;  puts  on 
a  half  dozen  armlets  and  leglets  of  the  same;  ties  on  a 
narrow  bead  belt  in  which  is  thrust  a  short  sword; 
annoints  himself  all  over  with  reddened  castor  oil 
until  he  glistens  and  shines  in  the  sun;  rubs  his  legs 
with  white  clay  and  traces  patterns  therein;  seizes 

128 


'.W 


3 
>. 

3 
^ 


X3 
O 


T3 
>     4> 

a 

J3 


13 


PEOPLE 

his  long-bladed  spear,  and  is  ready  for  the  city. 
Oh,  no!  I  forgot  —  and  he  probably  came  near  doing 
so  —  his  strip  of  'Mericani.*  This  was  originally 
white,  but  constant  wear  over  castor  oil  has  turned 
it  a  uniform  and  beautiful  brown. 

The  purpose  of  this  is  ornament,  and  it  is  so  worn. 
There  has  been  an  attempt,  I  understand,  to  force 
these  innocent  children  to  some  sort  of  conventional 
decency  while  actually  in  the  streets  of  Nairobi. 
It  was  too  large  an  order.  Some  bring  in  clothes, 
to  be  sure,  because  the  white  man  asks  it;  but  why 
no  sensible  man  could  say.  They  are  hung  from  one 
shoulder,  flap  merrily  in  the  breeze,  and  are  always 
quite  frankly  tucked  up  about  the  neck  or  under 
the  arms  when  the  wearer  happens  to  be  in  haste. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  these  savages  are  so  beautifully 
and  smoothly  formed;  their  red-brown  or  chocolate- 
brown  skin  is  so  fine  in  texture,  and  their  complete 
unconsciousness  so  genuine  that  in  an  hour  the  new- 
comer is  quite  accustomed  to  their  nakedness. 

These  proud  youths  wander  mincingly  down  the 
street  with  an  expression  of  the  most  fatuous  and 
good-natured  satisfaction  with  themselves.  To 
their  minds  they  have  evidently  done  every  last 
thing  that  human  ingenuity  or  convention  could 
encompass. 

*White  cotten  doth. 

129 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

They  are  the  dandies,  the  proud  young  aristocracy 
of  wealth  and  importance;  and  of  course  they  may 
differ  individually  or  tribally  from  the  sample  I  have 
offered.  Also  there  are  many  other  social  grades. 
Those  who  care  less  for  dress  or  have  less  to  get  it 
with  can  rub  along  very  cheaply.  The  only  real 
essentials  are  (a)  something  for  the  ear  —  a  tomato 
can  will  do;  (b)  a  trifle  for  clothing  —  and  for  that 
a  scrap  of  gunny  sacking  will  be  quite  enough. 

The  women  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  Nairobi 
are  mostly  of  the  Kikuyu  tribe.  They  are  pretty 
much  of  a  pattern.  Their  heads  are  shaven,  either 
completely  or  to  leave  only  ornamental  tufts;  and 
are  generally  bound  with  a  fine  wire  fillet  so  tightly 
that  the  strands  seem  to  sink  into  the  flesh.  A 
piece  of  cotton  cloth,  dyed  dark  umber  red,  is  belted 
around  the  waist,  and  sometimes,  but  not  always, 
another  is  thrown  about  the  shoulders.  They  go  in 
for  more  hardware  than  do  the  men.  The  entire 
arms  and  the  calves  of  the  legs  are  encased  in  a  sort 
of  armour  made  of  quarter-inch  wire  wound  closely, 
and  a  collar  of  the  same  material  stands  out  like  a 
ruff  eight  or  ten  inches  around  the  neck.  This  is 
wound  on  for  keeps;  and  must  be  worn  day  and  night 
and  all  the  time,  a  cumbersome  and  tremendously 
heavy  burden.  A  dozen  large  loops  of  coloured 
beads  strung  through  the  ears,  and  various  strings 

130 


PEOPLE 

and  necklaces  of  beads,  cowrie  shells  and  the  like, 
finish  them  out  in  all  their  gorgeousness.  They 
would  sink  like  plummets.  Their  job  in  life,  beside 
lugging  all  this  stuff  about,  is  to  carry  in  firewood 
and  forage.  At  any  time  of  the  day  long  files  of 
them  can  be  seen  bending  forward  under  their  bur- 
dens. These  they  carry  on  their  backs  by  means 
of  a  strap  across  the  tops  of  their  heads;  after  the 
fashion  of  the  Canadian  tump  line. 

The  next  cut  above  the  shenzi,  or  wild  man,  is  the 
individual  who  has  been  on  safari  as  carrier,  or  has 
otherwise  been  much  employed  around  white  men. 
From  this  experience  he  has  acquired  articles  of 
apparel  and  points  of  view.  He  is  given  to  ragged 
khaki,  or  cast-off  garments  of  all  sorts;  but  never  to 
shoes.  This  hint  of  the  conventional  only  serves  to 
accent  the  little  self-satisfied  excursions  he  makes 
into  barbarism.  The  shirt  is  always  worn  outside, 
the  ear  ornaments  are  as  varied  as  ever,  the  head  is 
shaved  in  strange  patterns,  a  tiny  tight  tuft  on  the 
crown  is  useful  as  fastening  for  feathers  or  little 
streamers  or  anything  else  that  will  wave  or  glitter. 
One  of  these  individuals  wore  a  red  label  he  had  — 
with  patience  and  difficulty  —  removed  from  one  of 
our  trunks.  He  had  pasted  it  on  his  forehead;  and 
it  read  "Baggage  Room,  Not  Wanted."  These 
people  are,   after  all,  but  modified  shenzis.     The 

131 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

modification  is  nearly  always  in  the  direction  of  the 
comic. 

Now  we  step  up  to  a  class  that  would  resent  being 
called  shenzis  as  it  would  resent  an  insult.  This  is 
the  personal  servant  class.  The  members  are  of  all 
tribes,  with  possibly  a  slight  preponderance  of 
Swahilis  and  Somalis.  They  are  a  very  clean,  well- 
groomed,  self-respecting  class,  with  a  great  deal  of 
dignity  and  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  their  bwanas. 
Also  they  are  exceedingly  likely  to  degenerate  unless 
ruled  with  a  firm  hand  and  a  wise  head.  Very  rarely 
are  they  dishonest  as  respects  the  possessions  of 
their  own  masters.  They  understand  their  work 
perfectly,  and  the  best  of  them  get  the  equivalent 
of  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  a  month.  Every  white 
individual  has  one  or  more  of  them;  even  the  tiny 
children  with  their  ridiculous  little  sun  helmets  are 
followed  everywhere  by  a  tall,  solemn,  white-robed 
black.  Their  powers  of  divination  approach  the 
uncanny.  About  the  time  you  begin  to  think  of 
wanting  something,  and  are  making  a  first  helpless 
survey  of  a  boyless  landscape,  your  own  servant 
suddenly,  mysteriously,  and  unobtrusively  appears 
from  nowhere.  Where  he  keeps  himself,  where  he 
feeds  himself,  where  he  sleeps  you  do  not  know. 
These  beautifully  clean,  trim,  dignified  people  are 
always  a  pleasant  accent  in  the  varied  picture. 

132 


PEOPLE 

The  Somalis  are  a  clan  by  themselves.  A  few  of 
them  condescend  to  domestic  service,  but  the  most 
prefer  the  free  life  of  traders,  horse  dealers,  gun- 
bearerSj  camel  drivers,  labour  go-betweens,  and 
similar  guerrilla  occupations.  They  are  handsome, 
dashing,  proud,  treacherous,  courageous,  likeable, 
untrustworthy.  They  career  around  on  their  high, 
short-stirruped  saddles;  they  saunter  indolently  in 
small  groups;  they  hang  about  the  hotel  hoping 
for  a  dicker  of  some  kind.  There  is  nothing  of  the 
savage  about  them,  but  much  of  the  true  barbarian, 
with  the  barbarian's  pride,  treachery,  and  love  of 
colour. 


133 


XVI 

RECRUITING 

TO  THE  traveller  Nairobi  is  most  interesting  as 
the  point  from  which  expeditions  start  and  to 
which  they  return.  Doubtless  an  extended  stay  in 
the  country  would  show  him  that  problems  of  ad- 
ministration and  possibilities  of  development  could 
be  even  more  absorbing;  but  such  things  are  very 
sketchy  to  him  at  first. 

As  a  usual  thing,  when  he  wants  porters  he  picks 
them  out  from  the  throng  hanging  around  the  big 
outfitters'  establishments.  Each  man  is  then  given 
a  blanket  —  cotton,  but  of  a  most  satisfying  red  — 
a  tin  water  bottle,  a  short  stout  cord,  and  a  navy 
blue  jersey.     After  that  ceremony  he  is  yours. 

But  on  the  occasion  of  one  three  months'  journey 
into  comparatively  unknown  country  we  ran  up 
against  difficulties.  Some  two  weeks  before  our 
contemplated  start  two  or  three  cases  of  bubonic 
plague  had  been  discovered  in  the  bazaar,  and  as  a 
consequence  Nairobi  was  quarantined.  This  meant 
that  a  rope  had  been  stretched  around  the  infected 

134 


RECRUITING 

area,  that  the  shops  had  been  closed,  and  that  no 
native  could  —  officially  —  leave  Nairobi.  The  lat- 
ter provision  affected  us;  for  under  it  we  should  be 
unable  to  get  our  bearers  out. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  whole  performance  — 
unofficially  —  was  a  farce.  Natives  conversed  affa- 
bly at  arm's  length  across  the  ropes;  hundreds 
sneaked  in  and  out  of  town  at  will;  and  from  the  rear 
of  the  infected  area  I  personally  saw  beds,  chests, 
household  goods,  blankets,  and  clothes,  passed  to 
friends  outside  the  ropes.  When  this  latter  condition 
was  reported,  in  my  presence,  to  the  medical  officers, 
they  replied  that  this  was  a  matter  for  police 
cognizance!  But  the  brave  outward  show  of  ropes, 
disinfectants,  gorgeous  sentries  —  in  front  —  and 
official  inspection  went  solemnly  on.  Great,  even 
in  Africa,  is  the  god  of  red  tape. 

Our  only  possible  plan,  in  the  circumstances,  was 
to  recruit  the  men  outside  the  town  to  camp  them 
somewhere,  march  them  across  country  to  a  way 
station  and  there  embark  them.  Our  goods  and 
safari  stores  we  could  then  ship  out  to  them  by  train. 

Accordingly  we  rode  on  bicycles  out  to  the  Swahili 
village. 

This  is,  as  I  have  said,  composed  of  large  "bee- 
hive" houses  thatched  conically  with  straw.  The 
roofs  extend  to  form  verandas  beneath  which  sit 

135 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

indolent  damsels,  their  hair  divided  in  innumerable 
tiny  parts  running  fore  and  aft  like  the  stripes  on  a 
watermelon;  their  figured  'Mericani  garments  draped 
gracefully.  As  befitted  the  women  of  plutocrats, 
they  wore  much  jewellery,  some  of  it  set  in  their 
noses.  Most  of  them  did  all  of  nothing,  but  some 
sat  half  buried  in  narrow  strips  of  bright-coloured 
tissue  paper.  These  they  were  pasting  together  like 
rolls  of  tape,  the  coloured  edges  of  the  paper  forming 
concentric  patterns  on  the  resultant  disks  —  an 
infinite  labour.  The  disks,  when  completed,  were 
for  insertion  in  the  lobes  of  the  ears. 

When  we  arrived  the  irregular  "streets"  of  the 
village  were  nearly  empty,  save  for  a  few  elegant 
youths,  in  long  kanzuas,  or  robes  of  cinnamon  colour 
and  spotless  white,  on  their  heads  fezzes  or  turbans, 
in  their  hands  slender  rattan  canes.  They  were 
very  busy  talking  to  each  other,  and  of  course  did  not 
notice  the  idle  beauties  beneath  the  verandas. 

Hardly  had  we  appeared,  however,  when  mysteri- 
ously came  forth  the  headman  —  a  bearded, 
solemn.  Arablike  person  with  a  phenomenally  ugly 
face  but  a  most  pleasing  smile.  We  told  him  we 
wanted  porters.  He  clapped  his  hands.  To  the  four 
young  men  who  answered  this  summons  he  gave 
a  command.  From  sleepy  indolence  they  sprang 
into  life.     To  the  four  cardinal  points  of  the  compass 

136 


RECRUITING 

they  darted  away,  running  up  and  down  the  side 
streets,  beating  on  the  doors,  screaming  at  the  tops 
of  their  lungs  the  word  *'C<2zf  "*  over  and  over  again. 

The  village  hummed  like  a  wasp's  nest.  Men 
poured  from  the  huts  in  swarms.  The  streets  were 
filled;  the  idle  sauntering  youths  were  swamped  and 
sunk  from  view.  Clamour  and  shouting  arose 
where  before  had  been  a  droning  silence.  The  mob 
beat  up  to  where  we  stood,  surrounding  us,  shouting 
at  us.  From  somewhere  some  one  brought  an  old 
table  and  two  decrepit  chairs,  battered  and  rickety 
in  themselves,  but  symbols  of  great  authority  in  a 
community  where  nobody  habitually  used  either. 
Two  naked  boys  proudly  took  charge  of  our  bicycles. 

We  seated  ourselves. 

"Fall  in!"  we  yelled. 

About  half  the  crowd  fell  into  rough  lines.  The 
rest  drew  slightly  one  side.  Nobody  stopped  talking 
for  a  single  instant. 

We  arose  and  tackled  our  job.  The  first  part  of 
it  was  to  segregate  the  applicants  into  their  different 
tribes 

^^Monumzvezi  hapa!^^  we  yelled;  and  the  command 
was  repeated  and  repeated  again  by  the  headman, 
by  his  four  personal  assistants,  by  a  half  dozen  lesser 
headmen.     Slowly    the    Monumwezi    drew    aside. 

*Work. 

137 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  impressed  on  them  emphatically  they  must  stay 
put,  and  went  after,  in  turn,  the  Baganda,  the 
Wakamba,  the  Swahilis,  the  Kavirondo,  the  Kikuyu. 
When  we  had  them  grouped,  we  went  over  them 
individually.  We  punched  their  chests,  we  ran  over 
all  their  joints,  we  examined  their  feet,  we  felt  their 
muscles.  Our  victims  stood  rigidly  at  inspection, 
but  their  numerous  friends  surrounded  us  closely, 
urging  the  claims  of  the  man  to  our  notice.  It  was 
rather  confusing,  but  we  tried  to  go  at  it  as  though 
we  were  alone  in  a  wilderness.  If  the  man  passed 
muster  we  motioned  him  to  a  rapidly  growing  group. 

When  we  had  finished,  we  had  about  sixty  men 
segregated.  Then  we  went  over  this  picked  lot 
again.  This  time  we  tried  not  only  to  get  good 
specimens,  but  to  mix  our  tribes.  At  last  our  count 
of  twenty-nine  was  made  up,  and  we  took  a  deep 
breath.  But  to  us  came  one  of  them  complaining 
that  he  was  a  Monumwezi,  and  that  we  had  picked 

only  three  Monumwezi,  and We  cut  him  short. 

His  contention  was  quite  correct.  A  porter  tent 
holds  five,  and  it  does  not  do  to  mix  tribes.  Re- 
organization! Cut  out  two  extra  Kavirondos,  and 
include  two  more  Monumwezi.  '^BassI  finished!" 
Now  go  get  your  effects.     We  start  immediately. 

As  quickly  as  it  had  filled,  the  street  cleared. 
The  rejected  dove  back  into  their  huts,  the  newly 

138 


RECRUITING 

enlisted  carriers  went  to  collect  their  baggage. 
Only  remained  the  headman  and  his  fierce-faced 
assistants,  and  the  splendid  youths  idling  up  and 
down  —  none  of  them  had  volunteered,  you  may  be 
sure  —  and  the  damsels  of  leisure  beneath  the 
porticos.  Also  one  engaging  and  peculiar  figure 
hovering  near. 

This  individual  had  been  particularly  busy  during 
our  recruiting.  He  had  hustled  the  men  into  line, 
he  had  advised  us  for  or  against  different  candidates, 
he  had  loudly  sung  my  praises  as  a  man  to  work  for, 
although,  of  course,  he  knew  nothing  about  me. 
Now  he  approached,  saluted,  smiled.  He  was  a  tall, 
slenderly  built  person,  with  phenomenally  long,  thin 
legs,  slightly  rounded  shoulders,  a  forward  thrust, 
keen  face,  and  remarkably  long,  slim  hands.  With 
these  he  gesticulated  much,  in  a  right-angled  fashion, 
after  the  manner  of  Egyptian  hieroglyphical  figures. 
He  was  in  no  manner  shenzi.  He  wore  a  fez,  a  neat 
khaki  coat  and  shorts,  blue  puttees  and  boots. 
Also  a  belt  with  leather  pockets,  a  bunch  of  keys,  a 
wrist  watch  and  a  seal  ring.  His  air  was  of  great 
elegance  and  social  ease.  We  took  him  with  us  as 
Cuninghame's  gunbearer.  He  proved  staunch,  a  good 
tracker,  an  excellent  hunter,  and  a  most  engaging 
individual.  His  name  was  Kongoni,  and  he  was  a 
Wakamba. 

139 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

But  now  we  were  confronted  with  a  new  problem: 
that  of  getting  our  twenty-nine  chosen  ones  to- 
gether again.  They  had  totally  disappeared.  In  all 
directions  we  had  emissaries  beating  up  the  laggards. 
As  each  man  reappeared  carrying  his  little  bundle, 
we  lined  him  up  with  his  companions.  Then  when 
we  turned  our  backs  we  lost  him  again;  he  had 
thought  of  another  friend  with  whom  to  exchange 
farewells.  At  the  long  last  however,  we  got  them 
all  collected.  The  procession  started,  the  naked 
boys  proudly  wheeling  our  bikes  alongside.  We 
saw  them  fairly  clear  of  everything,  then  turned 
them  over  to  Kongoni,  while  we  returned  to  Nairobi 
to  see  after  our  effects. 


140 


PART  IV 
A  LION  HUNT  ON  KAPITI 


XVII 
AN  OSTRICH  FARM  AT  MACHAKOS 

THIS  has  to  do  with  a  Hon  hunt  on  the  Kapiti 
Plains.  On  the  veranda  at  Nairobi  I  had  some 
time  previous  met  Clifford  Hill,  who  had  Invited  me 
to  visit  him  at  the  ostrich  farm  he  and  his  cousin 
were  running  in  the  mountains  near  Machakos. 
Some  time  later,  a  visit  to  Juja  Farm  gave  me  the 
opportunity.  Juja  is  only  a  day's  ride  from  the 
Hills'.  So  an  Africander,  originally  from  the  south, 
Captain  Duirs,  and  I  sent  across  a  few  carriers  with 
our  personal  effects,  and  ourselves  rode  over  on  horse- 
back. 

Juja  is  on  the  Athi  Plains.  Between  the  Athi  and 
Kapiti  Plains  runs  a  range  of  low  mountains  around 
the  end  of  which  one  can  make  his  way  as  around 
a  promontory.  The  Hills'  ostrich  farm  was  on 
highlands  in  the  bay  the  other  side  of  the  promontory. 

It  was  toward  the  close  of  the  rainy  season,  and 
the  rivers  were  up.  We  had  to  swim  our  horses 
within  a  half  mile  of  Juja,  and  got  pretty  wet. 
Shortly  after  crossing  the  Athi,  however,  five  miles 

143 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

on,  we  emerged  on  the  dry,  drained  slopes  from  the 
hills.  Here  the  grass  was  long,  and  the  ticks 
plenty.  Our  horses'  legs  and  chests  were  black  with 
them;  and  when  we  dismounted  for  lunch  we  our- 
selves were  almost  immediately  alive  with  the  pests. 
In  this  very  high  grass  the  game  was  rather  scarce, 
but  after  we  had  climbed  by  insensible  grades  to  the 
shorter  growth  we  began  to  see  many  hartebeeste, 
zebra,  and  gazelles,  and  a  few  of  the  wildebeeste,  or 
brindled  gnus.  Travel  over  these  great  plains,  and 
through  these  leisurely  low  hills  is  a  good  deal  like 
coastwise  sailing;  the  same  apparently  unattainable 
landmarks  which,  nevertheless,  are  at  last  passed 
and  left  astern  by  the  same  sure  but  insensible 
progress.  Thus  we  drew  up  on  apparently  contin- 
uous hills,  found  wide  gaps  between  them,  crossed 
them,  and  turned  to  the  left  along  the  other  side  of 
the  promontory.  About  five  o'clock  we  came  to  the 
Hills'. 

The  ostrich  farm  is  situated  on  the  very  top  of  a 
conical  rise  that  sticks  up  like  an  island  close  inshore 
to  the  semicircle  of  mountains  in  which  end  the  vast 
plains  of  Kapiti.  Thus  the  Hills  have  at  their  backs 
and  sides  these  solid  ramparts  and  face  westward 
the  immensities  of  space.  For  Kapiti  goes  on  over 
the  edge  of  the  world  to  unknown,  unguessed  regions, 
rolling  and  troubled  like  a   sea.     And   from  that 

144 


AN  OSTRICH   FARM  AT  MACHAKOS 

unknown,  on  very  still  days,  the  snowy  peak  of 
Kilimanjaro  peers  out,  sketched  as  faintly  against 
the  sky  as  a  soap  bubble  wafted  upward  and  about 
to  disappear.  Here  and  there  on  the  plains  kopjes 
stand  like  islands,  their  stone  tops  looking  as  though 
thrust  (from  beneath)  through  the  smooth  prairie 
surface.  To  them  meandered  long,  narrow  ravines 
full  of  low  brush,  like  thin,  wavering  streaks  of  gray. 
On  these  kopjes  —  each  of  which  had  its  name  — 
and  in  these  ravines  we  were  to  hunt  the  lions. 

We  began  the  ascent  of  the  cone  on  which  dwelt 
our  hosts.  It  was  one  of  those  hills  that  seem  in  no 
part  steep,  and  yet  which  finally  succeed  in  raising 
one  to  a  considerable  height.  We  passed  two  ostrich 
herds  in  charge  of  savages,  rode  through  a  scattered 
native  village,  and  so  came  to  the  farm  itself, 
situated  on  the  very  summit. 

The  house  consisted  of  three  large  circular  huts, 
thatched  neatly  with  papyrus  stalks,  and  with 
conical  roofs.  These  were  arranged  as  a  triangle, 
just  touching  each  other;  and  the  space  between 
had  been  roofed  over  to  form  a  veranda.  We  were 
ushered  in  to  one  of  these  circular  rooms.  It  was 
spacious  and  contained  two  beds,  two  chairs,  a 
dresser,  and  a  table.  Its  earth  floor  was  completely 
covered  by  the  skins  of  animals.  In  the  correspond- 
ing room,  opposite,  slept  our  hosts;  while  the  third 

I4S 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

hut  was  the  living  and  dining-room.  A  long  table, 
rawhide  bottomed  chairs,  a  large  sideboard,  book- 
cases, a  long  easy  settee  with  pillows,  gun  racks, 
photographs  in  and  out  of  frames,  a  table  with  writing 
materials,  and  books  and  magazines  everywhere  — 
not  to  speak  of  again  the  skins  of  many  animals 
completely  covering  the  floor.  Out  behind,  in  small 
separate  buildings  functioned  the  cook,  and  dwelt 
the  stores,  the  bathtub,  and  other  such  necessary 
affairs. 

As  soon  as  we  had  consumed  the  usual  grateful 
lime  juice  and  sparklets,  we  followed  our  hosts  into 
open  air  to  look  around. 

On  this  high,  airy  hilltop  the  Hills  some  day  are 
going  to  build  them  a  real  house.  In  anticipation 
they  have  laid  out  grounds  and  have  planted  many 
things.  In  examining  these  my  California  training 
stood  by  me.  Out  there,  as  here,  one  so  often 
examines  his  own  and  his  neighbours'  gardens  not 
for  what  they  are  but  for  what  they  shall  become. 
His  imagination  can  exalt  this  tiny  seedling  to  the 
impressiveness  of  spreading  noontime  shade;  can 
magnify  yonder  apparent  duplicate  to  the  full 
symmetry  of  a  shrub;  can  ruthlessly  diminish  the 
present  importance  of  certain  grand  and  lofty 
growths  to  their  true  status  of  flower  or  annual.  So 
from  a  dead  uniformity  of  size  he  casts  forward  in 

146 


AN  OSTRICH  FARM  AT  MACHAKOS 

the  years  to  a  pleasing  variation  of  shade,  of  jungle, 
of  open  glade,  of  flowered  vista;  and  he  goes  away 
full  of  expert  admiration  for  "X.'s  bully  garden." 
With  this  solid  training  beneath  me  I  was  able  on 
this  occasion  to  please  immensely. 

From  the  house  site  we  descended  the  slope  to 
where  the  ostriches  and  the  cattle  and  the  people 
were  in  the  last  sunlight  swarming  upward  from  the 
plains  pastures  below.  These  people  were  to  the 
most  extent  Wakamba,  quite  savage,  but  attracted 
here  by  the  justness  and  fair  dealing  of  the  Hills. 
Some  of  them  farmed  on  shares  with  the  Hills,  the 
white  men  furnishing  the  land  and  seed,  and  the 
black  men  the  labour;  some  of  them  laboured  on 
wage;  some  few  herded  cattle  or  ostriches;  some 
were  hunters,  and  took  the  field  only  when,  as  now, 
serious  business  was  afoot.  They  had  their  complete 
villages,  with  priests,  witch  doctors,  and  all;  and  they 
seemed  both  contented  and  fond  of  the  two  white 
men. 

As  we  walked,  about  we  learned  much  of  the 
ostrich  business;  and  in  the  course  of  our  ten  days' 
visit  we  came  to  a  better  realization  of  how  much 
there  is  to  think  of  in  what  appears  basically  so 
simple  a  proposition. 

In  the  nesting  time,  then,  the  Hills  went  out  over 
the  open  country,  sometimes  for  days  at  a  time, 

147 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

armed  with  long  high-power  telescopes.  With 
these  fearsome  and  unwieldy  instruments  they 
surveyed  the  country  inch  by  inch  from  the  advan- 
tage of  a  kopje.  When  thus  they  discovered  a  nest, 
they  descended  and  appropriated  the  eggs.  The 
latter,  hatched  at  home  in  an  incubator,  formed  the 
nucleus  of  a  flock. 

Pass  the  raising  of  ostrich  chicks  to  full  size 
through  the  difficulties  of  disease,  wild  beasts,  and 
sheer  cussedness.  Of  the  resultant  thirty  birds  or  so 
of  the  season's  catch  but  two  or  three  will  even 
promise  good  production.  These  must  be  bred  in 
captivity  with  other  likely  specimens.  Thus  after 
several  years  the  industrious  ostrich  farmer  may 
become  possessed  of  a  few  really  prime  birds.  To 
accumulate  a  proper  flock  of  such  in  a  new  country  is 
a  matter  of  a  decade  or  so.  Extra  prime  birds  are 
as  well  known,  and  as  much  in  demand  for  breeding 
as  any  blooded  horse  in  a  racing  country.  Your 
true  ostrich  enthusiast,  like  the  Hills,  possesses 
trunks  full  of  feathers,  not  good  commercially,  but 
intensely  interesting  for  comparison  and  for  the 
purposes  of  prophecy.  While  I  stayed  with  them 
came  a  rumour  of  a  very  fine  plucking  a  distant 
neighbour  had  just  finished  from  a  likely  two-year- 
old.  The  Hills  were  manifestly  uneasy  until  one 
of  them  had  ridden  the  long  distance  to  compare 

148 


AN  OSTRICH  FARM  AT  MACHAKOS 

this  newcomer's  product  with  that  of  their  own  two- 
year-olds.  And  I  shall  never  forget  the  reluctantly 
admiring  shake  of  the  head  with  which  he  acknowl- 
ledged  that  it  was  indeed  a  "very  fine  feather!" 

But  getting  the  birds  is  by  no  means  all  of  ostrich 
farming,  as  many  eager  experimenters  have  dis- 
covered to  their  cost.  The  birds  must  have  a 
certain  sort  of  pasture  land;  and  their  paddocks 
must  be  built  on  an  earth  that  will  not  soil  or  break 
the  edges  of  the  new  plumes. 

And  then  there  is  the  constant  danger  of  wild 
beasts.  When  a  man  has  spent  years  in  gathering 
suitable  flocks,  he  cannot  be  blamed  for  wild  anger 
when,  as  happened  while  I  was  in  the  country,  lions 
kill  sixty  or  seventy  birds  in  a  night.  The  ostrich 
seems  to  tempt  lions  greatly.  The  beasts  will 
make  their  way  through  and  over  the  most  compli- 
cated defences.  Any  ostrich  farmer's  life  is  a 
constant  warfare  against  them.  Thus  the  Hills 
had  slain  sixty-eight  lions  in  and  near  their  farm  — 
a  tremendous  record.  Still  the  beasts  continued  to 
come  in.  My  hosts  showed  me  with  considerable 
pride  their  arrangements  finally  evolved  for  night 
protection. 

The  ostriches  were  confined  in  a  series  of  heavy 
corrals  segregating  the  birds  of  different  ages. 
Around  the  outside  of  this  group  of  enclosures  ran 

149 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

a  wide  ring  corral  in  which  were  confined  the  nu- 
merous cattle;  and  as  an  outer  wall  to  this  were  built 
the  huts  of  the  Wakamba  village.  Thus  to  pene- 
trate to  the  ostriches  the  enterprising  lion  would 
have  to  pass  both  the  people,  the  cattle,  and  the 
strong  thorn  and  log  structures  that  contained  them. 

This  subject  brings  me  to  another  set  of  acquaint- 
ances we  had  already  made  —  the  dogs. 

These  consisted  of  an  Airedale  named  Ruby;  two 
setters  called  Wayward  and  Girlie;  a  heavy  black 
mongrel,  Nero;  ditto  brindle,  Ben;  and  a  smaller 
black  and  white  ditto.  Ranger.  They  were  very 
nice,  friendly  doggy  dogs,  but  they  did  not  look  like 
lion  hunters.  Nevertheless,  Hill  assured  us  that 
they  were  of  great  use  in  the  sport,  and  promised  us 
that  on  the  following  day  we  should  see  just  how. 


ISO 


XVIII 
THE  FIRST  LIONESS 

AT  AN  early  hour  we  loaded  our  bedding,  food, 
tents,  and  camp  outfit  on  a  two-wheeled  wagon 
drawn  by  four  of  the  humpbacked  native  oxen, 
and  sent  it  away  across  the  plains  with  instructions 
to  make  camp  on  a  certain  kopje.  Clifford  Hill 
and  myself,  accompanied  by  our  gunbearers  and 
syces,  then  rode  leisurely  down  the  length  of  a 
.shallow  brushy  canon  for  a  mile  or  so.  There  we 
dismounted  and  sat  down  to  await  the  arrival  of 
the  others.  These  —  including  Harold  Hill,  Captain 
Duirs,  five  or  six  Wakamba  spearmen,  our  own 
carriers,  and  the  dogs  —  came  along  more  slowly, 
beating  the  bottoms  on  the  off  chance  of  game. 

The  sun  was  just  warming,  and  the  bees  and 
insects  were  filling  the  air  with  their  sleepy  droning 
sounds.  The  sidehill  opposite  showed  many  little 
outcrops  of  rocks  so  like  the  hills  of  our  own  Western 
States  that  it  was  somewhat  difficult  to  realize  that 
we  were  in  Africa.  For  some  reason  the  delay  was 
long.     Then  suddenly  all  four  of  us  simultaneously 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

saw  the  same  thing.  A  quarter  mile  away  and 
on  the  sidehill  opposite  a  magnificent  lioness  came 
loping  easily  along  through  the  grass.  She  looked 
very  small  at  that  distance,  like  a  toy,  and  quite 
unhurried.  Indeed,  every  few  moments  she  paused 
to  look  back  in  an  annoyed  fashion  over  her  shoulder 
in  the  direction  of  the  row  behind  her. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  sit  tight  and  wait. 
The  lioness  was  headed  exactly  to  cross  our  front; 
nor,  except  at  one  point,  was  she  at  all  likely  to 
deviate.  A  shallow  tributary  ravine  ran  into  our 
own  about  two  hundred  yards  away.  She  might 
possibly  sneak  down  the  bed  of  this.  It  seemed 
unlikely.  The  going  was  bad,  and  in  addition 
she  had  no  idea  as  yet  that  she  had  been  sighted. 
Indeed,  the  chances  were  that  she  would  come  to  a 
definite  stop  before  making  the  crossing,  in  which 
case  we  would  get  a  shot. 

"And  if  she  does  go  down  the  donga,"  whispered 
Hill,  "the  dogs  will  locate  her." 

Sitting  still  while  things  approach  is  always  excit- 
ing. This  is  true  of  ducks;  but  when  you  multiply 
ducks  by  lions  it  is  still  more  true.  We  all  crouched 
very  low  in  the  grass.  She  leaped  without  hesitation 
into  the  ravine  —  and  did  not  emerge. 

This  was  a  disappointment.  We  concluded  she 
must  have  entered  the  stream  bottom,  and  were 

152 


THE  FIRST  LIONESS 

just  about  to  move  when  Memba  Sasa  snapped  his 
fingers.  His  sharp  eyes  had  discovered  her  sneaking 
along,  belly  to  the  ground,  like  the  cat  she  was. 
The  explanation  of  this  change  in  her  gait  was 
simple.  Our  companions  had  rounded  the  corner 
of  the  hill  and  were  galloping  in  plain  view  a  half 
mile  away.     The  lioness  had  caught  sight  of  them. 

She  was  gliding  by,  dimly  visible,  through  thick 
brush  seventy  yards  distant.  Now  I  could  make 
out  a  tawny  patch  that  faded  while  I  looked;  now 
I  could  merely  guess  at  a  melting  shadow. 

"Stir  her  up,"  whispered  Hill.  "Never  mind 
whether  you  hit.     She'll  sneak  away." 

At  the  shot  she  leaped  fully  out  into  the  open  with 
a  snarl.  Promptly  I  planted  a  Springfield  bullet 
in  her  ribs.  She  answered  slightly  to  the  hit  but  did 
not  shift  position.  Her  head  up,  her  tail  thrashing 
from  side  to  side,  her  ears  laid  back,  she  stood  there 
looking  the  landscape  over  carefully  point  by  point. 
She  was  searching  for  us,  but  as  yet  could  not  locate 
us.     It  was  really  magnificent. 

I  attempted  to  throw  in  another  cartridge,  but 
because  of  my  desire  to  work  the  bolt  quietly,  in 
order  not  to  attract  the  lioness's  attention,  I  did  not 
pull  it  back  far  enough,  and  the  cartridge  jammed 
in  the  magazine.  As  evidence  of  Memba  Sasa's 
coolness  and  efficiency,  it  is  to  be  written  that  he 

153 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

became  aware  of  this  as  soon  as  I  did.  He  thrust 
the  .405  across  my  right  side,  at  the  same  time  with- 
drawing the  Springfield  on  the  left.  The  motion  was 
slight,  but  the  lioness  caught  it.  Immediately  she 
dropped  her  head  and  charged. 

For  the  next  few  moments,  naturally,  I  was  pretty 
intent  on  lions.  Nevertheless  a  corner  of  my  mind 
was  aware  of  Memba  Sasa  methodically  picking 
away  at  the  jammed  rifle,  and  paying  no  attention 
whatever  to  the  beast.  Also  I  heard  Hill  making 
picturesque  remarks  about  his  gunbearer,  who  had 
bolted  with  his  second  gun. 

The  lioness  charged  very  fast,  but  very  straight, 
about  in  the  tearing,  scrambling  manner  of  a  terrier 
after  a  thrown  ball.  I  got  in  the  first  shot  as  she 
came,  the  bullet  ranging  back  from  the  shoulder  and 
Hill  followed  it  immediately  with  another  from  his 
.404  Jeff'rey.  She  growled  at  the  bullets,  and  checked 
very  slightly  as  they  hit,  but  gave  no  other  sign. 
Then  our  second  shots  hit  her  both  together.  The 
mere  shock  stopped]  her  short,  but  recovering 
instantly,  she  sprang  forward  again.  Hill's  third 
shot  came  next,  and  perceptibly  slowed  and  staggered 
but  did  not  stop  her.  By  this  time  she  was  quite 
close,  and  my  own  third  shot  reached  her  brain. 
She  rolled  over  dead. 

Decidedly  she  was  a  game  beast,  and  stood  more 

154 


THE  FIRST  LIONESS 

hammering  than  any  other  lion  I  killed  or  saw 
killed.  Before  the  final  shot  in  the  brain  she  had 
taken  one  light  bullet  and  five  heavy  ones  with  hardly 
a  wince.  Memba  Sasa  uttered  a  loud  grunt  of 
satisfaction  when  she  went  down  for  keeps.  He  had 
the  Springfield  reloaded  and  cocked,  right  at  my 
elbow. 

Hill's  gunboy  hovered  uncertainly  some  distance 
in  the  rear.  The  sight  of  the  charging  lioness  had 
been  too  much  for  him  and  he  had  bolted.  He  was 
not  actually  up  a  tree;  but  he  stood  very  tiear  one. 
He  lost  the  gun  and  acquired  a  swift  kick. 

Our  friends  and  the  men  now  came  up.  The  dogs 
made  a  great  row  over  the  dead  lioness.  She  was 
measured  and  skinned  to  accompaniment  of  the 
usual  low-hummed  chantings.  We  had  with  us  a 
small  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years  whose  job  it  was 
to  take  care  of  the  dogs  and  to  remove  ticks.  In 
fact  he  was  knqwn  as  the  Tick  Toto.  As  this  was 
his  first  expedition  afield,  his  father  took  especial 
pains  to  smear  him  with  fat  from  the  lioness.  This 
was  to  make  him  brave.  I  am  bound  to  confess  the 
effect  was  not  immediate. 


155 


XIX 

THE  DOGS 

I  SOON  discovered  that  we  were  hunting  lions 
with  the  assistance  of  the  dogs;  not  that  the 
dogs  were  hunting  lions.  They  had  not  lost  any 
lions,  not  they!  My  mental  pictures  of  the  snarl- 
ing, magnificent  king  of  beasts  surrounded  by  an 
equally  snarling,  magnificent  pack  vanished  into 
thin  air. 

Our  system  was  to  cover  as  much  likely  country 
as  we  could,  and  to  let  the  dogs  have  a  good  time. 
As  I  have  before  indicated,  they  were  thoroughly 
doggy  dogs,  and  interested  in  everything  —  except 
able-bodied  lions.  None  of  the  stick-at-your-heels 
in  their  composition.  They  ranged  far  and  wide 
through  all  sorts  of  cover  seeking  what  they  could 
find  in  the  way  of  porcupines,  mongoose,  hares, 
birds,  cats  and  whatever  else  should  interest  any 
healthy-minded  dog.  If  there  happened  to  be  any 
lions  in  the  path  of  these  rangings,  the  dogs  retired 
rapidly,  discreetly,  and  with  every  symptom  of 
horrified  disgust.     If  a  dog  came  sailing  out  of  a 

iS6 


THE  DOGS 

thicket,  kl-yi-Ing  agitatedly,  and  took  up  his  position, 
tail  between  his  legs,  behind  his  master,  we  knew 
there  was  probably  a  lion  about.  Thus  we  hunted 
lions  with  dogs. 

But  in  order  to  be  fair  to  these  most  excellent 
canines,  it  should  be  recorded  that  they  recovered 
a  certain  proportion  of  their  nerve  after  a  rifle  had 
been  fired.  They  then  returned  warily  to  the  — 
not  attack  —  reconnaissance.  This  trait  showed 
touching  faith,  and  was  a  real  compliment  to  the 
marksmanship  of  their  masters.  Some  day  it  will 
be  misplaced.  A  little  cautious  scouting  on  their 
part  located  the  wounded  beast;  whereupon,  at  a 
respectful  distance,  they  lifted  their  voices.  As 
a  large  element  of  danger  in  case  of  a  wounded  lion 
is  the  uncertainty  as  to  his  whereabout,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  dogs  were  very  valuable  indeed.  They 
seemed  to  know  exactly  how  badly  hit  an  animal 
might  happen  to  be,  and  to  gauge  their  distance  ac- 
cordingly, until  at  last,  when  the  quarry  was  ham- 
mered to  harmlessness,  they  closed  in  and  began 
to  worry  the  nearly  lifeless  carcass.  By  this  policy 
the  dogs  had  a  lot  of  fun  hunting  on  their  own 
hook,  preserved  their  lives  from  otherwise  inevitable 
extinction,  and  were  of  great  assistance  in  saving 
their  masters'  skins. 

One  member  of  the   pack,   perhaps   two,   were, 

157 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

however,  rather  pathetic  figures.  I  refer  to  the 
setters,  Wayward  and  Girlie.  Ranger,  Ruby, 
Ben,  and  Nero  scampered  merrily  over  the  land- 
scape after  anything  that  stirred,  from  field  mice 
to  serval  cats.  All  was  game  to  their  catholic  tastes; 
and  you  may  be  sure,  in  a  country  like  Africa, 
they  had  few  dull  moments.  But  Wayward  and 
Girlie  had  been  brought  up  in  a  more  exclusive 
manner.  Their  instincts  had  been  supplemented 
by  a  rigorous  early  training.  Game  to  them  meant 
birds,  and  birds  only.  Furthermore,  they  had  been 
solemnly  assured  by  human  persons  in  whom  they 
had  the  utmost  confidence  that  but  one  sequence 
of  events  was  permissible  or  even  thinkable  in  the 
presence  of  game.  The  Dog  at  first  intimation  by 
scent  must  convey  the  fact  to  the  Man,  must  proceed 
cautiously  to  locate  exactly,  must  then  stiffen  to 
a  point  which  he  must  hold  staunchly,  no  matter 
how  distracting  events  might  turn  out,  of  how  long 
an  interval  might  elapse.  The  Man  must  next 
walk  up  the  birds;  shoot  at  them,  perhaps  kill  one, 
then  command  the  Dog  to  retrieve.  The  Dog  must 
on  no  account  move  from  his  tracks  until  such 
command  is  given.  All  the  affair  is  perfectly  simple; 
but  quite  inflexible.  Any  variation  in  this  procedure 
fills  the  honest  bird  dog's  mind  with  the  same  horror 
and  dismay  experienced  by  a  well-brought-up  young 

158 


THE  DOGS 

man  who  discovers  that  he  has  on  shoes  of  the  wrong 
colour.     It  isn't  done,  you  know. 

Consider  then  Wayward  and  Girlie  in  a  country 
full  of  game  birds.  They  quarter  wide  to  right, 
then  cross  to  left,  their  heads  high,  their  feather 
tails  waving  in  the  most  approved  good  form.  When 
they  find  birds  they  draw  to  their  points  in  the 
best  possible  style;  stiffen  out  —  and  wait.  It  is 
now,  according  to  all  good  ethics,  up  to  the  Man. 
And  the  Man  and  his  companions  go  right  on  by, 
paying  absolutely  no  attention  either  to  the  situation 
or  our  own  magnificent  piece  of  work!  What  is  one 
to  conclude.^  That  our  early  training  is  all  wrong? 
that  we  are  at  one  experience  to  turn  apostate  to  the 
settled  and  only  correct  order  of  things  ?  Or  that 
our  masters  are  no  gentlemen.  That  is  a  pretty 
difficult  thing,  an  impossible  thing,  to  conclude  of 
one's  own  master.  But  it  leaves  one  in  a  fearful 
state  mentally;  and  one  has  no  idea  of  what  to  do! 

Wayward  was  a  perfect  gentleman,  and  he  played 
the  game  according  to  the  very  best  traditions. 
He  conscientiously  pointed  every  bird  he  could  get 
his  nose  on.  Furthermore  he  was  absolutely  staunch 
and  held  his  point  even  when  the  four  non-bird  dogs 
rushed  in  ahead  of  him.  The  expression  of  puzzle- 
ment, grief,  shock  and  sadness  in  his  eyes  deepened 
as   bird   after   bird   soared    awav  without   a   shot. 

1 59 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Girlie  was  more  liberal-minded.  She  pointed  her 
birds,  and  backed  Wayward  at  need,  but  when  the 
other  dogs  rushed  her  point,  she  rushed  too.  And 
when  we  swept  on  by  her,  leaving  her  on  point; 
instead  of  holding  it  quixotically,  as  did  Wayward, 
until  the  bird  sneaked  away;  she  merely  waited 
until  we  were  out  of  sight,  and  then  tried  to  catch 
it.  Finally  Captain  Duirs  remarked  that  lions  or  no 
lions  he  was  not  going  to  stand  it  any  longer.  He 
got  out  a  shotgun  and  all  one  afternoon  killed  grouse 
over  Wayward,  to  the  latter's  intense  relief.  His 
ideals  had  been  rehabilitated. 


i6o 


XX 

BONDONI 

WE  followed  many  depressions,  in  which  might 
be  lions,  until  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  Then  we  climbed  the  gently  rising  long 
slope  that  culminated,  far  above  the  plains,  in  the 
peak  of  a  hill  called  Bondoni.  From  a  distance 
it  was  steep  and  well  defined;  but,  like  most  of  these 
larger  kopjes,  its  actual  ascent,  up  to  the  last  few 
hundred  feet,  was  so  gradual  that  we  hardly  knew 
we  were  climbing.  At  the  summit  we  found  our 
men  and  the  bullock  cart.  There  also  stood  an 
oblong  blockhouse  of  stone,  the  walls  two  feet  thick 
and  ten  feet  high.  It  was  entered  only  by  a  blind 
angle  passage;  and  was  strong  enough  apparently 
to  resist  small  artillery.  This  structure  was  simply 
an  ostrich  corral!  and  bitter  experience  had  shown 
the  massive  construction  absolutely  necessary  as 
adequate  protection,  in  this  exposed  and  solitary 
spot,  against  the  lions. 

We  had  some  tea  and  bread  and  butter,  and  then 
Clifford  Hill  and  I  set  out  afoot  after  meat.     Only 

i6i 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

occasionally  do  these  hard-working  settlers  get  a 
chance  for  hunting  on  the  plains  so  near  them; 
and  now  they  had  promised  their  native  retainers 
that  they  would  send  back  a  treat  of  game.  To 
carry  this  promised  luxury  a  number  of  the  villagers 
had  accompanied  the  bullock  wagon.  As  we  were 
to  move  on  next  day,  it  became  very  desirable  to 
get  the  meat  promptly  while  still  near  home. 

We  slipped  over  to  the  other  side,  and  by  good 
fortune  caught  sight  of  a  dozen  zebras  feeding  in 
scrub  halfway  down  the  hill.  They  were  out  of 
their  proper  environment  up  there,  but  we  were 
glad  of  it.  Down  on  our  tummies  then  we  dropped; 
and  crawled  slowly  forward  through  the  high,  sweet 
grasses.  We  were  in  the  late  afternoon  shadow  of 
the  hill,  and  we  enjoyed  the  mild  skill  of  the  stalk. 
Taking  advantage  of  every  cover,  slipping  over  into 
little  ravines,  lying  very  flat  when  one  of  the  beasts 
raised  his  head,  we  edged  nearer  and  nearer.  We 
were  already  well  within  range,  but  it  amused  us 
to  play  the  game.  Finally,  at  one  hundred  yards, 
we  came  to  a  halt.  The  zebra  showed  very  hand- 
some at  that  range,  for  even  their  smaller  leg  stripes 
were  all  plainly  visible.  Of  course  at  that  distance 
there  could  be  small  chance  of  missing,  and  we 
downed  one  each.  The  Wakamba,  who  had  been 
watching  eagerly,  swarmed  down  shouting. 

162 


BONDONI 

We  dined  just  at  sunset  under  a  small  tree  at 
the  very  top  of  the  peak.  Long  bars  of  light  shot 
through  the  western  clouds;  the  plain  turned  from 
solid  earth  to  a  mysterious  sea  of  shifting  twilights; 
the  buttes  stood  up  wrapped  in  veils  of  soft  desert 
colours;  Kilimanjaro  hung  suspended  like  a  rose- 
coloured  bubble  above  the  abyss  beyond  the  world. 


163 


XXI 
RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

FROM  the  mere  point  of  view  of  lions,  lion 
hunting  was  very  slow  work  indeed.  It  meant 
riding  all  of  long  days,  from  dawn  until  dark, 
investigating  miles  of  country  that  looked  all  alike 
and  in  which  we  seemed  to  get  nowhere.  One  by 
one  the  long  billows  of  plain  fell  behind,  until  our 
camphill  had  turned  blue  behind  us,  and  we  seemed 
to  be  out  in  illimitable  space,  with  no  possibility, 
in  an  ordinary  lifetime,  of  ever  getting  in  touch 
with  anything  again.  What  from  above  had  looked 
as  level  as  a  floor  now  turned  into  a  tremendously 
wide  and  placid  ground  swell.  As  a  consequence 
we  were  always  going  imperceptibly  up  and  up  and 
up  to  a  long-delayed  skyline,  or  tipping  as  gently 
down  the  other  side  of  the  wave.  From  crest  to 
crest  of  these  long  billows  measured  two  or  three 
miles.  The  vertical  distance  in  elevation  from 
trough  to  top  was  perhaps  not  over  fifty  to  one- 
hundred  feet. 

Slowly  we  rode  along  the  shallow  grass  and  brush 

164 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

ravines  in  the  troughs  of  the  low  billows,  while  the 
dogs  worked  eagerly  in  and  out  of  cover,  and  our 
handful  of  savages  cast  stones  and  shouted.  Oc- 
casionally we  divided  forces  and  beat  the  length  of 
a  hill,  two  of  us  lying  in  wait  at  one  end  for  the 
possible  lion,  the  rest  sweeping  the  sides  and  sum- 
mits. Many  animals  came  bounding  along,  but 
no  lions.  Then  Harold  Hill,  unlimbering  a  huge, 
many-jointed  telescope,  would  lie  flat  on  his  back 
and  sight  the  fearsome  instrument  over  his  crossed 
feet,  in  a  general  bird's  eye  view  of  the  plains  for 
miles  around.  While  he  was  at  it  we  were  privileged 
to  look  about  us  less  under  the  burden  of  respon- 
sibility. We  could  make  out  the  game  as  little, 
light-coloured  dots  and  speckles,  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  them,  thicker  than  cattle  ever  grazed 
on  the  open  range,  and  as  far  as  the  eye  could  make 
them  out,  and  then  a  glance  through  our  glasses 
picked  them  up  again  for  mile  after  mile.  Even 
the  six-power  could  go  no  farther.  The  imagina- 
tion was  left  the  vision  of  more  leagues  of  wild 
animals  even  to  the  half-guessed  azure  mountains 
—  and  beyond.  I  had  seen  abundant  game  elsewhere 
in  Africa,  but  nothing  like  the  multitudes  inhabiting 
the  Kapiti  Plains  at  that  time  of  year.  In  other 
seasons  this  locality  is  comparatively  deserted. 
The  'scope  revealing  nothing  in  our  line,  we   rode 

1 6s 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

again  to  the  lower  levels,  and  again  took  up  our 
slow,  painstaking  search. 

But  although  three  days  went  by  in  this  manner 
without  our  getting  a  glimpse  of  lions,  they  were 
far  from  being  days  lost.  Minor  adventure  filled 
our  hours.  What  elsewhere  would  be  major  interest 
of  strange  and  interesting  experience  met  us  at 
every  turn.  The  game,  while  abundant,  was  very 
shy.  This  had  nothing  to  do  with  distrust  of  hunters ; 
but  merely  to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  season  of 
green  grass.  We  liked  to  come  upon  animals  un- 
expectedly, to  see  them  buck-jump  and  cavort. 

Otherwise  we  rode  in  a  moving  space  cleared  of 
animals,  the  beasts  unobtrusively  giving  way  before 
us,  and  as  unobtrusively  closing  in  behind.  The 
sun  flashed  on  the  spears  of  savages  travelling 
single  file  across  the  distance.  Often  we  stopped 
short  to  gaze  upon  a  wild  and  tumbled  horizon  of 
storm  that  Gu stave  Dore  might  have  done. 

The  dogs  were  always  joyously  routing  out  some 
beast,  desirable  from  their  point  of  view,  and  chasing 
it  hopelessly  about,  to  our  great  amusement.  Once 
they  ran  into  a  giant  porcupine  —  about  the  size 
a  setter  would  be  with  shorter  legs  —  which  did 
not  understand  running  away.  They  came  upon 
it  in  a  dense  thicket,  and  the  ensuing  row  was  unholy. 
They  managed  to  kill  the  porcupine  among  them, 

i66 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

after  which  we  plucked  barbed  quills  from  some 
very  grieved  dogs.  The  quills  were  large  enough 
to  make  excellent  penholders.  The  dogs  also  swore 
by  all  canine  gods  that  they  wouldn't  do  a  thing  to 
a  hyena,  if  only  they  could  get  hold  of  one.  They 
never  got  hold  of  one,  for  the  hyena  is  a  coward. 
His  skull  and  teeth,  however,  are  as  big  and  powerful 
as  those  of  a  lioness;  so  I  do  not  know  which  was 
luckiest  in  his  avoidance  of  trouble  —  he  or  the  dogs. 

Nor  from  the  shooting  standpoint  did  we  lack 
for  sport.  We  had  to  shoot  for  our  men;  and  we 
occasionally  needed  meat  ourselves.  It  was  always 
interesting,  when  such  necessities  arose,  to  stalk 
the  shy  bucks  and  do  long-range  rifle  practice. 
This  shooting,  however,  was  done  only  after  the 
day's  hunt  was  over.  We  had  no  desire  to  spoil 
our  lion  chances. 

The  long  circle  toward  our  evening  camp  always 
proved  very  long  indeed.  We  arrived  at  dusk  to 
find  supper  ready  for  us.  As  we  were  old  cam- 
paigners we  ate  this  off  chop  boxes  as  tables,  and  sat 
on  the  ground.  It  was  served  by  a  Wakamba 
youth  we  had  nicknamed  Herbert  Spencer,  on  ac- 
count of  his  gigantic  intellect.  Herbert  meant  well, 
but  about  all  he  succeeded  in  accomplishing  was  a 
pathetically  wrinkled  brow  of  care  and  scared  eyes. 
He  had  never  been  harshly  treated  by  any  of  us, 

167 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

but  he  acted  as  though  always  ready  to  bolt.  If 
there  were  twenty  easy  right  methods  of  doing  a 
thing  and  one  difficult  wrong  method,  Herbert  would 
get  the  latter  every  time.  No  amount  of  experience 
could  teach  him  the  logic  of  our  simplest  ways.  One 
evening  he  brought  a  tumbler  of  mixed  water  and 
condensed  milk.  Harold  Hill  glanced  into  the 
receptacle. 

"Stir  it,"  he  commanded  briefly. 

Herbert  Spencer  obeyed.  We  talked  about  some- 
thing else.  Some  five  or  ten  minutes  later  one 
of  us  noticed  that  Herbert  was  still  stirring,  and 
called  attention  to  the  fact.  When  the  latter  saw 
our  eyes  were  on  him  he  speeded  up  until  the  spoon 
fairly  rattled  in  the  tumbler.  Then  when  he  thought 
our  attention  had  relaxed  again,  he  relaxed  also  his 
efforts.  The  spoon  travelled  slower  and  slower  in 
its  dreamy  circle.  We  amused  ourselves  for  some 
time  thus.  Then  we  became  so  weak  from  laughter 
that  we  fell  backward  off  our  seats  and  some  one 
gasped  a  command  that  Herbert  cease. 

I  am  afraid,  after  a  little,  that  we  rather  enjoyed 
mildly  tormenting  poor  Herbert  Spencer.  He  tried 
so  hard,  and  looked  so  scared,  and  was  so  unbeliev- 
ably stupid!  Almost  always  he  had  to  pick  his 
orders  word  by  word  from  a  vast  amount  of  high- 
flown,  unnecessary  English. 

1 68 


«3 


a 

(U 
oJ 


J3 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

"O  Herbert  Spencer,"  the  command  would  run, 
"if  you  would  condescend  to  bend  your  mighty 
intellect  to  the  lowly  subject  of  maji,  and  will  snatch 
time  from  your  profound  cerebrations  to  assure  its 
being  moto  sanUy  I  would  esteem  it  infinite  conde- 
scension on  your  part  to  lets  pesi  pesi.^' 

And  Herbert,  listening  to  all  this  with  a  painful, 
strained  intensity,  would  catch  the  six  key  words, 
and  would  falter  forth  a  trembling  ^'N^dio  hwana.''^ 

Somewhere  down  deep  within  Herbert  Spencer's 
make  up,  however,  was  a  moral  sense  of  duty.  When 
we  finally  broke  camp  for  keeps,  on  the  great  hill  of 
Lucania,  Herbert  Spencer,  relieved  from  his  job, 
bolted  like  a  shot.  As  far  as  we  could  see  him  he 
was  running  at  top  speed.  If  he  had  not  possessed 
a  sense  of  duty,  he  would  have  done  this  long  ago. 

We  camped  always  well  up  on  some  of  the  numer- 
ous hills;  for,  although  anxious  enough  to  find  lions 
in  the  daytime,  we  had  no  use  for  them  at  all  by 
night.  This  usually  meant  that  the  boys  had  to 
carry  water  some  distance  for  the  benefit  of  the  dogs. 
We  kept  a  canvas  bathtub  full  from  which  they 
could  drink  at  any  time.  This  necessary  privilege 
after  a  hard  day  nearly  drove  Captain  Duirs  crazy. 
It  happened  like  this: 

We  were  riding  along  the  slope  of  a  sidehill,  when 
in  the  ravine,  a  half  mile  away  and  below  us,  we 

169 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

saw  something  dark  pop  up  in  sight  and  then  down 
again.  We  shouted  to  some  of  the  savage  Wakamba 
to  go  investigate.  They  closed  in  from  all  sides, 
their  long  spears  poised  to  strike.  At  the  last  mo- 
ment out  darted,  not  an  animal,  but  a  badly  fright- 
ened old  man  armed  with  bow  and  arrow.  He 
dashed  out  under  the  upraised  spears,  clasped  one 
of  the  men  around  the  knees,  and  implored  protec- 
tion. Our  savages,  their  spears  ready,  glanced  over 
their  shoulders  for  instruction.  They  would  have 
liked  nothing  better  than  to  have  spitted  the  poor 
old  fellow. 

We  galloped  down  as  fast  as  possible  to  the  rescue. 
With  reluctance  our  spearmen  drew  back,  releasing 
their  prize.  We  picked  up  his  scattered  bows  and 
arrows,  restored  them  to  him,  and  uttered  many 
reassurances.  He  was  so  badly  frightened  that  he 
could  not  stand  for  the  trembling  of  his  knees. 
Undoubtedly  he  thought  that  war  had  broken  out 
and  that  he  was  the  first  of  its  unconscious  victims. 
After  calming  him  down,  we  told  him  what  we  were 
doing,  and  offered  to  shoot  him  meat  if  he  cared  to 
accompany  us.  He  accepted  the  offer  with  joy. 
So  pleased,  and  relieved,  was  he  that  he  slipped 
about  like  a  young  and  nimble  goat.  His  hunting 
companion,  who  all  this  time  had  stood  atop  a  hill 
at  a  safe  distance,  viewed  these  performances  with 

170 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

concern.  Our  captive  shouted  loudly  for  him  to  come 
join  us  and  share  in  the  good  fortune.  Not  he! 
he  knew  a  trap  when  he  saw  one!  Not  a  bit  dis- 
turbed by  the  tales  this  man  would  probably  carry 
back  home,  our  old  fellow  attached  himself  to  us 
for  three  days ! 

Near  sundown,  to  make  our  promise  good,  and 
also  to  give  our  own  men  a  feast,  I  shot  two  harte- 
beeste  near  camp. 

The  evening  was  beautiful.  The  Machakos  Range, 
miles  distant  across  the  valley,  was  mantled  with 
thick,  soft  clouds.  From  our  elevation  we  could 
see  over  them,  and  catch  the  glow  of  moonlight  on 
their  upper  surfaces.  We  were  very  tired,  so  we 
turned  in  early  and  settled  ourselves  for  a  good  rest. 

Outside  our  tent  the  little  "Injun  fire"  we  had 
built  for  our  own  comfort  died  down  to  coals.  A 
short  distance  away,  however,  was  a  huge  bonfire 
around  which  all  the  savages  were  gathered.  They 
squatted  comfortably  on  their  heels,  roasting  meat. 
Behind  each  man  was  planted  his  glittering  long- 
bladed  spear.  The  old  man  held  the  place  of  honour, 
as  befitted  his  flirtation  with  death  that  morning. 
Everybody  was  absolutely  happy  —  a  good  fire, 
plenty  of  meat,  and  strangers  with  whom  to  have 
a  grand  "jA^wn."  The  clatter  of  tongues  was  a 
babel,  for  almost  every  one  talked  at  once  and  ex- 

171 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

citedly.  Those  who  did  not  talk  crooned  weird, 
improvised  chants  in  which  they  detailed  the  doings 
of  the  camp. 

We  fell  very  quickly  into  the  half  doze  of  too 
great  exhaustion.  It  never  became  more  than  a 
half  doze.  I  suppose  every  one  who  reads  this  has 
had  at  some  time  the  experience  of  dropping  asleep 
to  the  accompaniment  of  some  noise  that  ought 
soon  to  cease  —  a  conversation  in  the  next  room, 
singing,  the  barking  of  a  dog,  the  playing  of  music, 
or  the  like.  The  fact  that  it  ought  soon  to  cease 
permits  the  falling  asleep.  When  after  an  interval 
the  subconsciousness  finds  the  row  still  going  on, 
inexcusable  and  unabated,  it  arouses  the  victim  to 
staring  exasperation.  That  was  our  case  here. 
Those  natives  should  have  turned  in  for  sleep  after 
a  reasonable  amount  of  powwow.  They  did  nothing 
of  the  kind.  On  the  contrary,  I  dragged  reluctantly 
back  to  consciousness  and  the  realization  that  they 
had  quite  happily  settled  down  to  make  a  night 
of  it.  I  glanced  across  the  little  tent  to  where  Cap- 
tain Duirs  lay  on  his  cot.  He  was  staring  straight 
upward,  his  eyes  wide  open. 

After  a  few  seconds  he  slipped  out  softly  and 
silently.  Our  little  fire  had  sunk  to  embers.  A 
dozen  sticks  radiated  from  the  centre  of  coals. 
Each  made  a  firebrand  with  one  end  cool   to  the 

172 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

grasp.  Captain  Dulrs  hurled  one  of  these  at  the 
devoted  and  unconscious  group. 

It  whirled  through  the  air  and  fell  plunk  in  the 
other  fire,  scattering  sparks  and  coals  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  second  was  under  way  before  the  first 
had  landed.  It  hit  a  native  with  ditto  ditto  results 
plus  astonished  and  grieved  language.  The  rest 
followed  in  rapid-magazine  fire.  Every  one  hit  its 
mark  fair  and  square.  The  air  was  full  of  sparks 
exploding  in  all  directions;  the  brush  was  full  of 
Wakamba,  their  blankets  flapping  in  the  breeze 
of  their  going.  The  convention  was  adjourned. 
There  fell  the  sucking  vacuum  of  a  great  silence. 
Captain  Duirs,  breathing  righteous  wrath,  flopped 
heavily  and  determinedly  down  on  his  cot.  I  caught 
a  faint  snicker  from  the  tent  next  door. 

Captain  Duirs  sighed  deeply,  turned  over,  and 
prepared  to  sleep.  Then  one  of  the  dogs  uprose  —  I 
think  it  was  Ben  —  stretched  himself,  yawned,  ap- 
proached deliberately,  and  began  to  drink  from  the 
canvas  bathtub  just  outside.  He  drank  —  lap  lap 
lap  lap  lap  —  for  a  very  long  time.  It  seemed  in- 
credible that  any  mere  dog  —  or  canvas  bathtub  — 
could  hold  so  much  water.  The  steady  repetition 
of  this  sound  long  after  it  should  logically  have 
ceased  was  worse  than  the  shenzi  gathering  around 
the  fire.     Each  lap  should  have  been  the  last,  but 

173 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

it  was  not.  The  shenzi  convention  had  been  abated 
with  firebrands,  but  the  dog  was  strictly  within 
his  rights.  The  poor  pups  had  had  a  long  day  with 
little  water,  and  they  could  hardly  be  blamed  for 
feeling  a  bit  feverish  now.  At  last  Ben  ceased. 
Next  morning  Captain  Duirs  claimed  vehemently 
that  he  had  drunk  two  hours  forty-nine  minutes  and 
ten  seconds.  With  a  contented  sigh  Ben  lay  down. 
Then  Ruby  got  up,  shook  herself,  and  yawned.  A 
bright  idea  struck  her.  She  too  went  over  and  took 
a  drink.  After  that  I,  personally,  went  to  sleep.  But 
in  the  morning  I  found  Captain  Duirs  staring-eyed 
and  strung  nearly  to  madness,  trying  feverishly  to 
calculate  how  seven  dogs  drinking  on  an  average  of 
three  hours  apiece  could  have  finished  by  morning. 
When  Harold  Hill  innocently  asked  if  he  had  slept 
well,  the  captain  threw  the  remaining  but  now  extinct 
firebrand  at  him. 

One  of  the  safari  boys,  a  big  Baganda,  had  twisted 
his  foot  a  little,  and  it  had  swelled  up  considerably. 
In  the  morning  he  came  to  have  it  attended  to. 
The  obvious  treatment  was  very  hot  water  and  rest; 
but  it  would  never  do  to  tell  him  so.  The  recom- 
mendation of  so  simple  a  remedy  would  lose  me  his 
faith.  So  I  gave  him  a  little  dab  of  tick  ointment 
wrapped  in  a  leaf. 

"This,"  said  I,  "is  most  wonderful  medicine;  but 

174 


RIDING  THE  PLAINS 

it  is  also  most  dangerous.  If  you  were  to  rub  it 
on  your  foot  or  your  hand  or  any  part  of  you,  that 
part  would  drop  off.  But  if  you  wash  the  part  in 
very  hot  water  continuously  for  a  half  hour,  and 
then  put  on  the  medicine,  it  is  good,  and  will  cure 
you  very  soon."  I  am  sure  I  do  not  know  what 
they  put  in  tick  ointment;  nor  for  the  purpose  did 
it  greatly  matter. 

That  night,  also,  Herbert  Spencer  capped  the 
climax  of  his  absurdities.  The  chops  he  had  cooked 
did  not  quite  suffice  for  our  hunger,  so  we  instructed 
him  to  give  us  some  of  the  leg.  By  this  we  meant 
steak  of  course.  Herbert  Spencer  was  gone  so  long 
a  time  that  finally  we  went  to  see  what  possibly 
could  be  the  matter.  We  found  him  trying  des- 
perately to  cook  the  whole  leg  in  a  frying  pan  1 


175 


XXII 
THE  SECOND  LIONESS 

NOW  our  luck  changed  most  abruptly.  We 
had  been  riding  since  early  morning  over 
the  wide  plains.  By  and  by  we  came  to  a  wide, 
shallow,  flood-water  course,  carpeted  with  lava, 
boulders  and  scant,  scattered  brush.  Two  of  us 
took  one  side  of  it,  and  two  the  other.  At  this  we 
were  just  within  hailing  distance.  The  boys  wan- 
dered down  the  middle. 

Game  was  here  very  abundant,  and  in  this  broken 
country  proved  quite  approachable.  I  saw  one 
Grant's  gazelle  head,  in  especial,  that  greatly 
tempted  me;  but  we  were  hunting  lions,  and  other 
shooting  was  out  of  place.  Also  the  prospects  for 
lions  had  brightened,  for  we  were  continually  seeing 
hyenas  in  packs  of  from  three  to  six.  They  lay 
among  the  stones,  but  galloped  away  at  our  ap- 
proach. The  game  paid  not  the  slightest  attention 
to  these  huge,  skulking  brutes.  One  passed  within 
twenty  feet  of  a  hartebeeste;  the  latter  hardly  glanced 
at  him.     As  the  hyena  is  lazy  as  well  as  cowardly, 

176 


THE  SECOND  LIONESS 

and  almost  never  does  his  killing,  we  Inferred 
from  the  presence  of  so  many  a  good  supply  of 
lion-killed  meat.  From  a  tributary  ravine  we 
flushed  nineteen! 

Harold  Hill  was  riding  with  me  on  the  right  bank. 
His  quick  eye  caught  a  glimpse  of  something  beyond 
our  companions  on  the  left  side.  A  glance  through 
the  glasses  showed  me  that  it  was  a  lion,  just  dis- 
appearing over  the  hill.  At  once  we  turned  our 
horses  to  cross.  It  was  a  mean  job.  We  were 
naturally  in  a  tremendous  hurry;  and  the  footing 
among  those  boulders  and  rounded  rocks  was  so 
vile  that  a  very  slow  trot  was  the  best  we  could 
accomplish.  And  that  was  only  by  standing  in 
our  stirrups,  and  holding  up  our  horses'  heads  by 
main  strength.  We  reached  the  skyline  in  time  to 
see  a  herd  of  game  stampeding  away  from  a  de- 
pression a  half  mile  away.  We  fixed  our  eyes  on 
that  point,  and  a  moment  later  saw  the  lion  or 
lioness,  as  it  turned  out,  leap  a  little  gully  and  make 
out  the  other  side. 

The  footing  down  this  slope  too  was  appalling, 
consisting  mainly  of  chunks  of  lava  interspersed  with 
smooth,  rounded  stones  and  sparse  tufts  of  grass. 
In  spite  of  the  stones  we  managed  a  sort  of  stumbling 
gallop.  Why  we  did  not  all  go  down  in  a  heap, 
I  do  not  know.     At  any  rate  we  had  no  chance  to 

177 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

watch  our  quarry,  for  we  were  forced  to  keep  our 
eyes  strictly  to  our  way.  When  finally  we  emerged 
from  that  tumble  of  rocks,  she  had  disappeared. 

Either  she  had  galloped  out  over  the  plains,  or 
she  had  doubled  back  to  take  cover  in  the  ravine. 
In  the  latter  case  she  would  stand.  Our  first  job, 
therefore,  was  to  determine  whether  she  had  escaped 
over  the  open  country.  To  this  end  we  galloped 
our  horses  madly  in  four  different  directions,  push- 
ing them  to  the  utmost,  swooping  here  and  there 
in  wide  circles.  That  was  an  exhilarating  ten  minutes 
until  we  had  surmounted  every  billow  of  the  plain, 
spied  in  all  directions,  and  assured  ourselves  beyond 
doubt  that  she  had  not  run  off.  The  horses  fairly 
flew,  spurning  the  hard  sod,  leaping  the  rock  dikes, 
skipping  nimbly  around  the  pig  holes,  turning  like 
cow-ponies  under  pressure  of  knee  and  rein.  Finally 
we  drew  up,  converged,  and  together  jogged  our 
sweating  horses  back  to  the  ravine.  There  we 
learned  from  the  boys  that  nothing  more  had  been 
seen  of  our  quarry. 

We  dismounted,  handed  our  mounts  to  their 
syces,  and  prepared  to  make  afoot  a  clean  sweep 
of  the  wide,  shallow  ravine.  Here  was  where  the 
dogs  came  in  handy.  We  left  a  rear  guard  of  two 
men,  and  slowly  began  our  beat. 

The  ravine  could  hardly  be  called  a  ravine;  rather 

178 


THE  SECOND  LIONESS 

a  shallow  depression  with  banks  not  over  a  foot 
high,  and  with  a  varying  width  of  from  two  to  two- 
hundred  feet.  The  grass  grew  very  patchy,  and  not 
very  high;  in  fact,  it  seemed  hardly  tall  enough  to 
conceal  anything  as  large  as  a  lioness.  We  men 
walked  along  the  edge  of  this  depression,  while  the 
dogs  ranged  back  and  forth  in  its  bottom. 

We  had  gone  thus  a  quarter  mile  when  one  of 
the  rear  guard  came  running  up. 

''''Bwana^'*  said  he,  "we  have  seen  the  lioness. 
She  is  lying  in  a  patch  of  grass.  After  you  had 
passed,  we  saw  her  raise  her  head." 

It  seemed  impossible  that  she  should  have  escaped 
both  our  eyes  and  the  dogs'  noses,  but  we  returned. 
The  man  pointed  out  a  thin  growth  of  dried,  yellow 
grass  ten  feet  in  diameter.  Then  it  seemed  even 
more  incredible.  Apparently  we  could  look  right 
through  every  foot  of  it.  The  man  persisted  so  we 
advanced  in  battle  array.  At  thirty  yards  Captain 
Duirs  saw  the  black  tips  of  her  ears.  We  all  looked 
hard,  and  at  last  made  her  out,  lying  very  flat, 
her  head  between  her  paws.  Even  then  she  was 
shadowy  and  unreal,  and,  as  I  have  said,  the  cover 
did  not  look  thick  enough  to  conceal  a  good-sized 
dog. 

As  though  she  realized  she  had  been  sighted,  she 
at  this  moment  leaped  to  her  feet.     Instantly  I 

179 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

put  a  .405  bullet  into  her  shoulder.  Any  other  lion 
I  ever  saw  or  heard  of  would  in  such  circumstances 
and  at  such  a  distance  immediately  have  charged 
home.  She  turned  tail  and  ran  away.  I  missed 
her  as  she  ran,  then  knocked  her  down  with  a  third 
shot.  She  got  up  again,  but  was  immediately  hit 
by  Captain  Duir's  .350  Magnum  and  brought  to  a 
halt.  The  dogs,  seeing  her  turn  tail  and  hearing 
our  shots,  had  scrambled  madly  after  her.  We 
dared  not  shoot  again  for  fear  of  hitting  one  of  them; 
so  we  dashed  rapidly  into  the  grass  and  out  the 
other  side.  Before  we  could  get  to  her,  she  had 
sent  Ruby  flying  through  the  air,  and  had  then  fallen 
over  dead.  Ruby  got  off  lucky  with  only  a  deep 
gash  the  length  of  her  leg. 

This  was  the  only  instance  I  experienced  of  a 
wounded  lion  showing  the  white  feather.  She  was, 
however,  only  about  three  quarters  grown,  and  was 
suffering  from  diarrhoea. 


180 


XXIII 
THE  BIG  LION 

THE  boys  skinned  her  while  we  ate  lunch. 
Then  we  started  several  of  them  back  toward 
camp  with  the  trophy,  and  ourselves  cut  across 
country  to  a  small  river  known  as  the  Stony  Athi. 
There  we  dismounted  from  our  horses,  and  sent 
them  and  the  boys  atop  the  ridge  above  the  stream, 
while  we  ourselves  explored  afoot  the  side  hill  along 
the  river. 

This  was  a  totally  different  sort  of  country  from 
that  to  which  we  had  been  accustomed.  Imagine 
a  very  bouldery  side  hill  planted  thickly  with  knee- 
high  blackberry  vines  and  more  sparsely  with  higher 
bushes.  They  were  not  really  blackberry  vines, 
of  course,  but  their  tripping,  tangling,  spiky  quali- 
ties were  the  same.  We  had  to  force  our  way 
through  these,  or  step  from  boulder  to  boulder. 
Only  very  rarely  did  we  get  a  little  rubbly  clear 
space  to  walk  in,  and  then  for  only  ten  or  twenty 
feet.  We  tried  in  spaced  intervals  to  cover  the 
whole  side  hill.     It  was  very  hard  work.     The  boys, 

i8i 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

with  the  horses,  kept  pace  with  us  on  the  skyline 
atop,  and  two  or  three  hundred  yards  away. 

We  had  proceeded  in  this  fashion  for  about  a 
mile,  when  suddenly  and  most  unexpectedly,  the 
biggest  lion  I  ever  saw  leaped  straight  up  from  a 
bush  twenty-five  yards  in  front  of  me  and  with  a 
tremendous  roar  vanished  behind  another  bush.  I 
had  just  time  to  throw  up  the  .405  shotgun-fashion 
and  let  drive  a  snap  shot.  Clifford  Hill,  who  was 
ten  yards  to  my  right,  saw  the  fur  fly,  and  we  all 
heard  the  snarl  as  the  bullet  hit.  Naturally  we 
expected  an  instant  charge,  but,  as  things  turned  out, 
it  was  evident  the  lion  had  not  seen  us  at  all.  He 
had  leaped  at  the  sight  of  our  men  and  horses  on 
the  skyline,  and  when  the  bullet  hit  he  must  have 
ascribed  it  to  them.  At  any  rate,  he  began  to 
circle  through  the  tangled  vines  toward  their  direc- 
tion. 

From  their  elevation  they  could  follow  his  move- 
ments. At  once  they  set  up  howls  of  terror  and 
appeals  for  help.  Some  began  frantically  to  run 
back  and  forth.  None  of  them  tried  to  run  away; 
there  was  nowhere  to  go! 

The  only  thing  that  saved  them  was  the  thick 
and  spiky  character  of  the  cover.  The  lion,  instead 
of  charging  straight  and  fast,  was  picking  an  easy 
way. 

182 


THE  BIG  LION 

We  tore  directly  up  hill  as  fast  as  we  were  able, 
leaping  from  rock  to  rock  and  thrusting  recklessly 
through  the  tangle.  About  halfway  up  I  jumped 
to  the  top  of  a  high,  conical  rock,  and  thence  by 
good  luck  caught  sight  of  the  lion's  great  yellow  head 
advancing  steadily  about  eighty  yards  away.  I  took 
as  good  a  sight  as  I  could  and  pulled  trigger.  The 
recoil  knocked  me  clear  off  the  boulder,  but  as  I 
fell  I  saw  his  tail  go  up  and  knew  that  I  had  hit. 
At  once  Clifford  Hill  and  I  jumped  up  on  the  rock 
again,  but  the  lion  had  moved  out  of  sight.  By 
this  time,  however,  the  sound  of  the  shots  and  the 
smell  of  blood  had  caused  the  dogs  to  close  in.  They 
did  not  of  course  attempt  to  attack  the  lion  nor 
even  to  get  very  near  him,  but  their  snarling  and 
barking  showed  us  the  beast's  whereabout.  Even 
this  much  is  bad  judgment  on  their  part,  as  a  number 
of  them  have  been  killed  at  it.  The  thicket  burst 
into  an  unholy  row. 

We  all  manoeuvred  rapidly  for  position.  Again 
luck  was  with  me,  for  again  I  saw  his  great  head, 
the  mane  standing  out  all  around  it;  and  for  the 
second  time  I  planted  a  heavy  bullet  square  in 
his  chest.  This  stopped  his  advance.  He  lay 
down;  his  head  was  up  and  his  eyes  glared,  as  he 
uttered  the  most  reverberating  and  magnificent  roars 
and  growls.      The  dogs  leaped  and  barked  around 

183 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

him.  We  came  quite  close,  and  I  planted  my 
fourth  bullet  in  his  shoulder.  Even  this  was  not 
enough.  It  took  a  fifth  in  the  same  place  to  finish 
him,  and  he  died  at  last  biting  great  chunks  of 
earth. 

The  howls  from  the  hilltop  ceased.  All  gathered 
to  marvel  at  the  lion's  immense  size.  He  measured 
three  feet  nine  inches  at  the  shoulder,  and  nine  feet 
eleven  inches  between  stakes,  or  ten  feet  eleven 
inches  along  contour.  This  is  only  five  inches 
under  record.  We  weighed  him  piecemeal,  after 
a  fashion,  and  put  him  between  550  and  600 
pounds. 

But  these  are  only  statistics  and  mean  little  unless 
a  real  attempt  is  made  to  visualize  them.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  his  mere  height  —  that  of  a  medium- 
size  zebra  —  was  little  unless  accented  by  the 
impression  of  his  tremendous  power  and  quick- 
ness. 

We  skinned  him,  and  then  rode  four  long  hours 
to  camp.  We  arrived  at  dark,  and  at  once  set  to 
work  preparing  the  trophy.  A  dozen  of  us  squatted 
around  the  skin,  working  by  lantern  light.  Memba 
Sasa  had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  before  dawn,  but 
in  his  pride  and  delight  he  refused  to  touch  a  mouth- 
ful until  the  job  was  finished.  Several  times  we 
urged  him  to  stop  long  enough  for  even  a  bite.     He 

184 


THE  BIG  LION 

steadily  declined,  and  whetted  his  knife,  his  eyes 
gleaming  with  delight,  his  lips  crooning  one  of  his 
weird  Momumwezi  songs.  At  eleven  o'clock  the 
task  was  done.  Then  I  presented  Memba  Sasa  with 
a  tall  mug  of  coffee  and  lots  of  sugar.  He  considered 
this  a  great  honour. 


i8S 


XXIV 
THE  FIFTEEN  LIONS 

TWO  days  before  Captain  Duirs  and  I  were  to 
return  to  Juja  we  approached,  about  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  long,  low,  rugged  range 
of  hills  called  Lucania.  They  were  not  very 
high,  but  bold  with  cliffs,  buttes,  and  broken 
rocky  stretches.  Here  we  were  to  make  our  final 
hunt. 

We  led  our  safari  up  to  the  level  of  a  boulder  flat 
between  two  deep  caiions  that  ran  down  from  the 
hills.  Here  should  be  water,  so  we  gathered  under 
a  lone  little  tree,  and  set  about  directing  the  simple 
disposition  of  our  camp.  Herbert  Spencer  brought 
us  a  cold  lunch,  and  we  sat  down  to  rest  and  refresh- 
ment before  tackling  the  range. 

Hardly  had  we  taken  the  first  mouthfuls,  however, 
when  Memba  Sasa,  gasping  for  breath,  came  tearing 
up  the  slope  from  the  canon  where  he  had  descended 
for  a  drink. 

"Lions!"  he  cried  guardedly,  "I  went  to  drink, 
and  I  saw  four  lions.     Two  were  lying  under  the 

i86 


THE  FIFTEEN  LIONS 

shade,  but  two  others  were  playing  like  puppies, 
one  on  its  back." 

While  he  was  speaking  a  lioness  wandered  out 
from  the  canon  and  up  the  opposite  slope.  She 
was  somewhere  between  six  and  nine  hundred  yards 
away,  and  looked  very  tiny;  but  the  binoculars 
brought  us  up  to  her  with  a  jump.  Through  them 
she  proved  to  be  a  good  one.  She  was  not  at  all 
hurried,  but  paused  from  time  to  time  to  yawn  and 
look  about  her.  After  a  short  interval  another, 
also  a  lioness,  followed  in  her  footsteps.  She  too 
had  climbed  well  clear  when  a  third,  probably  a 
full-grown  but  still  immature  lion,  came  out,  and 
after  him  the  fourth. 

"You  were  right"  we  told  Memba  Sasa,  "there 
are  your  four." 

But  while  we  watched  a  fifth,  again  at  the  spaced 
interval,  this  time  a  maned  lion,  clambered  leisurely 
up  in  the  wake  of  his  family;  and  after  him  another, 
and  another,  and  yet  another!  We  gasped,  and  sat 
.down  the  better  to  steady  our  glasses  with  our 
knees.  There  seemed  no  end  to  lions.  They  came 
out  of  that  apparently  inexhaustible  canon  bed  one 
at  a  time,  and  at  the  same  regular  intervals;  perhaps 
twenty  yards  or  so  apart.  It  was  almost  as  though 
they  were  being  released  singly.  Finally  we  had 
fifteen  in  sight. 

187 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

It  was  a  most  magnificent  spectacle,  and  we  could 
enjoy  it  unhurried  by  the  feeling  that  we  were  losing 
opportunities.  At  that  range  it  would  be  silly  to 
open  fire.  If  we  had  descended  to  the  canon  in 
order  to  follow  them  out  the  other  side,  they  would 
merely  have  trotted  away.  Our  only  chance  was 
to  wait  until  they  had  disappeared  from  sight,  and 
then  to  attempt  a  wide  circle  in  order  to  catch  them 
from  the  flank.  In  the  meantime  we  had  merely 
to  sit  still. 

Therefore  we  stared  through  our  glasses  and  en- 
joyed to  the  full  this  most  unusual  sight.  There 
were  four  cubs  about  as  big  as  setter  dogs;  four  full- 
grown  but  immature  youngsters;  four  lionesses,  and 
three  male  lions.  They  kept  their  spaced,  single 
file  formation  for  two  thirds  the  ascent  of  the  hill  — 
probably  the  nature  of  the  ground  forced  them  to 
it  —  and  then  gradually  drew  together.  Near  the 
top,  but  still  below  the  summit,  they  entered  a 
jumble  of  boulders  and  stopped.  We  could  make 
out  several  of  them  lying  down.  One  fine  old  yellow 
fellow  stretched  himself  comfortably  atop  a  flat 
rock,  in  the  position  of  a  bronze  lion  on  a  pedestal. 

We  waited  twenty  minutes  to  make  sure  they  were 
not  going  to  move.  Then,  leaving  all  our  men 
except  the  gunbearers  under  the  tree,  we  slipped 
back  until  out  of  sight,  and  began  to  execute  our 

i88 


THE  FIFTEEN  LIONS 

flank  movement.  The  chances  seemed  good.  The 
jumble  of  boulders  was  surrounded  by  open  country, 
and  it  was  improbable  the  lions  could  leave  it  without 
being  seen.  We  had  arranged  with  our  men  a 
system  of  signals. 

For  two  hours  we  walked  very  hard  in  order  to 
circle  out  of  sight,  down  wind,  and  to  gain  the  other 
side  of  the  ridge  back  of  the  lions.  We  purposed 
slipping  over  the  ridge  and  attacking  from  above. 
Even  this  was  but  a  slight  advantage.  The  job  was 
a  stiff  one,  for  we  might  expect  certainly  the  majority 
to  charge. 

Therefore  when  we  finally  deployed  in  skirmish 
order  and  bore  down  on  that  patch  of  brush  and 
boulders,  we  were  braced  for  the  shock  of  battle. 
We  found  nothing.  Our  men,  however,  signalled 
that  the  lions  had  not  left  cover.  After  a  little 
search,  however,  we  discovered  a  very  shallow  de- 
pression running  slantwise  up  the  hill  and  back  of 
the  cover.  So  slight  it  was  that  even  the  glasses 
had  failed  to  show  it  from  below.  The  lions  had 
in  all  probability  known  about  us  from  the  start, 
and  were  all  the  time  engaged  in  withdrawing  after 
their  leisurely  fashion. 

Of  course  we  hunted  for  them;  in  fact  we  spent 
two  days  at  it;  but  we  never  found  trace  of  them 
again.    The  country  was  too  hard  for  tracking.  They 

189 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

had  left  Lucania.  Probably  by  the  time  we  had 
completed  our  two  hours  of  flanking  movement  they 
were  five  miles  away.  The  presence  of  cubs  would 
account  for  this.  In  ordinary  circumstances  we 
should  have  had  a  wonderful  and  exciting  fight. 
But  the  sight  of  those  fifteen  great  beasts  was  one 
I  shall  never  forget. 

After  we  had  hunted  Lucania  thoroughly,  we 
parted  company  with  the  Hills,  and  returned  to  Juja 
Farm. 


190 


PART  V 
THE  TSAVO  RIVER 


XXV 

vol 

PART  way  up  the  narrow-gauge  railroad  from 
the  coast  is  a  station  called  Voi.  On  his  way 
to  the  interior  the  traveller  stops  there  for  an  evening 
meal.  It  is  served  in  a  high,  wide  stone  room  by 
white-robed  Swahilis  under  command  of  a  very 
efficient  and  quiet  East  Indian.  The  voyager  steps 
out  into  the  darkness  to  look  across  the  way  upon 
the  outlines  of  two  great  rounded  hills  against  an 
amethyst  sky.  That  is  all  he  ever  sees  of  Voi,  for 
on  the  down  trip  he  passes  through  it  about  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  that  particularly  trying  hour  F.  and  I  de- 
scended and  attempted,  by  the  light  of  lanterns,  to 
sort  out  twenty  safari  boys  strange  to  us,  and  mis- 
cellaneous camp  stores.  We  did  not  entirely  succeed. 
Three  men  were  carried  on  down  the  line;  and  the 
fly  to  our  tent  was  never  seen  again  ► 

The  train  disappeared.  Our  boys,  shivering, 
crept  Into  corners.  We  took  possession  of  the 
dak-bungalow  maintained  by  the  railroad  for  just 

193 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

such  travellers  as  ourselves.  It  was  simply  a  high 
stone  room,  with  three  iron  beds,  and  a  corner  so 
cemented  that  one  could  pour  pails  of  water  over 
one's  self  without  wetting  down  the  whole  place.  The 
beds  were  supplied  with  mosquito  canopies,  and 
strong  wire  springs.  Over  these  we  spread  our  own 
bedding,  and  thankfully  resumed  our  slumbers. 

The  morning  discovered  to  us  Voi  as  the  station, 
the  district  commissioner's  house  on  a  distant  side 
hill,  and  a  fairly  extensive  East  Indian  bazaar. 
The  keepers  of  the  latter  traded  with  the  natives. 
Immediately  about  the  station  grew  some  flat  shady 
trees.  All  else  was  dense  thorn  scrub  pressing  close 
about  the  town.  Over  opposite  were  the  tall, 
rounded  mountains. 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  its  appearance,  Voi  has 
its  importance  in  the  scheme  of  things.  From  it, 
crossing  the  great  Serengetti  desert,  runs  the  track 
to  Kilimanjaro  and  that  part  of  German  East  Africa. 
The  Germans  have  as  yet  no  railroad;  so  they  must 
perforce  patronize  the  British  line  this  far,  and  then 
trek  across.  As  the  Kilimanjaro  district  is  one  rich 
in  natives  and  trade,  the  track  is  well  used.  Most 
of  the  transport  is  done  by  donkeys  —  either  in 
carts  or  under  the  pack  saddle.  As  the  distance  from 
water  to  water  is  very  great,  the  journey  is  a  hard 
one.     This  fact,  and  the  incidental  consideration  that 

194 


vol 

from  fly  and  hardship  the  mortality  in  donkeys  is  very 
heavy,  pushes  the  freight  rates  away  up.  And  that 
fact  accounts  for  the  motor  car,  which  has  been  my 
point  of  aim  from  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph. 

The  motor  car  plies  between  Voi  and  the  German 
line,  at  exorbitant  rates.  Our  plan  was  to  have 
it  take  us  and  some  galvanized  water  tanks  out  Into 
the  middle  of  the  desert  and  dump  us  down  there. 
So  after  breakfast  we  hunted  up  the  owner. 

He  proved  to  be  a  very  short,  thick-set,  blond 
German  youth  who  justified  Weber  and  Fields.  In 
fact,  he  talked  so  exactly  like  those  comedians  that 
my  task  in  visualizing  him  to  you  Is  somewhat 
lightened.  If  all.  Instead  of  merely  a  majority,  of 
my  readers  had  seen  Weber  and  Fields,  that  task 
would  vanish. 

We  explained  our  plan,  and  asked  him  his 
price. 

"Sefen  hundert  and  feefty  rupees,"*  said  he  un- 
compromisingly. 

He  was  abrupt,  blunt,  and  insulting.  As  we 
wanted  transportation  very  much  —  though  not 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  rupees'  worth  —  we  per- 
sisted. He  offered  an  Imperturbable  take-It-or- 
leave-It  stolidity.  The  motor  truck  stood  near.  I 
said   something  technical   about  the  engine;  then 

I9S 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

something  more.  He  answered  these  remarks, 
though  grudgingly.  I  suggested  that  it  took  a 
mighty  good  driver  to  motor  through  this  rough 
country.  He  mentioned  a  particular  hill.  I  pro- 
posed that  we  try  the  station  restaurant  for  beer 
while  he  told  me  about  it.  He  grunted,  but  headed 
for  the  station. 

For  two  hours  we  listened  to  the  most  blatant 
boasting.  He  was  a  great  driver;  he  had  driven  for 
M.,  the  American  millionaire;  for  the  Chinese  Am- 
bassador to  France;  for  Grand-duke  Alexis;  for  the 
Kaiser  himself!  We  learned  how  he  had  been  the 
trusted  familiar  of  these  celebrities,  how  on  various 
occasions  —  all  detailed  at  length  —  he  had  been 
treated  by  them  as  an  equal;  and  he  told  us  sundry 
sly,  slanderous,  and  disgusting  anecdotes  of  these 
worthies,  his  forefinger  laid  one  side  his  nose.  When 
we  finally  got  him  worked  up  to  the  point  of  going 
to  get  some  excessively  bad  photographs  "I  haf 
daken  myself!"  we  began  to  have  hopes.  So  we 
tentatively  approached  once  more  the  subject  of 
transportation. 

Then  the  basis  of  the  trouble  came  out.  One 
Davis,  M.  P.  from  England,  had  also  dealt  with 
our  friend.  Davis,  as  we  reconstructed  him,  was  of 
the  blunt  type,  with  probably  very  little  feeling  of 
democracy  for  those  in  subordinate  positions,  and 

196 


vol 

with  most  certainly  a  good  deal  of  insular  and  racial 
prejudice.  Evidently  a  rather  vague  bargain  had 
been  struck,  and  the  motor  had  set  forth.  Then 
ensued  financial  wranglings  and  disputes  as  to  terms. 
It  ended  by  useless  hauteur  on  Davis's  part,  and  in- 
excusable but  effective  action  by  the  German.  For 
Davis  found  himself  dumped  down  on  the  Seren- 
getti  desert  and  left  there. 

We  heard  all  this  in  excruciatingly  funny  Weber- 
andfieldese,  many  times  repeated.  The  German 
literally  beat  his  breast  and  cried  aloud  against 
Davis.  We  unblushingly  sacrificed  a  probably  per- 
fectly worthy  Davis  to  present  need,  and  cried  out 
against  him  too. 

"Am  I  like  one  dog.'"'  demanded  the  German 
fervently. 

"Certainly  wo/.'"  we  cried  with  equal  fervour. 
We  both  like  dogs. 

Then  followed  wearisomely  reiterated  assurance 
that  we,  at  least,  knew  how  a  gentleman  should  be 
treated,  and  more  boasting  of  proud  connection  in 
the  past.  But  the  end  of  it  was  a  bargain  of  reason- 
able dimensions  for  ourselves,  our  personal  boys, 
and  our  loads.  Under  plea  of  starting  our  safari 
boys  off  we  left  him,  and  crept,  with  shattered  nerves, 
around  the  corner  of  the  dak-bungalow.  There  we 
lurked,  busy  at  pretended  affairs,  until  our  friend 

197 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

swaggered  away  to  the  Hindu  quarters,  where,  it 
seems,  he  kept  his  residence. 

About  ten  o'clock  a  small  safari  marched  in  afoot. 
It  had  travelled  all  of  two  nights  across  the  Thirst, 
and  was  glad  to  get  there.  The  single  white  man 
in  charge  had  been  three  years  alone  among  the 
natives  near  Kilimanjaro,  and  he  was  now  out  for 
a  six  months'  vacation  at  home.  Two  natives  in 
the  uniform  of  Soudanese  troops  hovered  near  him 
very  sorrowful.  He  splashed  into  the  water  of  the 
dak-bungalow,  and  then  introduced  himself.  We 
sat  in  teakwood  easy  chairs  and  talked  all  day.  He 
was  a  most  interesting,  likable  and  cordial  man, 
at  any  stage  of  the  game.  The  game,  by  means 
of  French  vermouth  —  of  all  drinks!  — progressed 
steadily.  We  could  hardly  blame  him  for  celebrat- 
ing. By  afternoon  he  wanted  to  give  things  away. 
So  insistent  was  he  that  F.  finally  accepted  an  ebony 
walking  staff,  and  I  an  ebony  knife  inset  with  ivory. 
If  we  had  been  the  least  bit  unscrupulous,  I  am 
afraid  the  relatives  at  home  would  have  missed 
their  African  souvenirs.  He  went  out  via  freight 
car,  all  by  himself,  seated  regally  in  a  steamer  chair 
between  both  wide-open  side  doors,  one  sorrowful 
native  squatted  on  either  side  to  see  that  he  did  not 
lurch  out  into  the  landscape. 


198 


XXVI 
THE  FRINGE-EARED  ORYX 

AT  ten  o'clock  the  following  morning  we  started. 
On  the  high  front  seat,  under  an  awning,  sat 
the  German,  F.,  and  I.  The  body  of  the  truck  was 
filled  with  safari  loads,  Memba  Sasa,  Simba,  Mo- 
hamet, and  F.'s  boy,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten. 
The  arrangement  on  the  front  seat  was  due  to  a 
strike  on  the  part  of  F. 

"Look  here,"  said  he  to  me,  "you've  got  to  sit 
next  that  rotter.  We  want  him  to  bring  us  back 
some  water  from  the  other  side;  and  I'd  break  his 
neck  in  ten  minutes.  You  sit  next  him  and  give 
him  your  motor  car  patter." 

Therefore  I  took  the  middle  seat  and  played 
chorus.  The  road  was  not  a  bad  one,  as  natural 
mountain  roads  go;  I  have  myself  driven  worse  in 
California.  Our  man,  however,  liked  to  exaggerate 
all  the  difficulties,  and  while  doing  it  to  point  to 
himself  with  pride  as  a  perfect  wonder.  Between 
times  he  talked  elementary  mechanics. 

"The  Inflammation  of  the  sparkling  plugs"  was 

199 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

one  of  his  expressions  that  did  much  to  compen- 
sate. 

The  country  mounted  steadily  through  the  densest 
thorn  scrub  I  have  ever  seen.  It  was  about  fifteen 
feet  high,  and  so  thick  that  its  penetration  save  by 
made  tracks  would  have  been  an  absolute  impossi- 
bility. Our  road  ran  like  a  lane  between  two  spiky 
jungles.  Bold  bright  mountains  cropped  up,  singly 
and  in  short  ranges,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see  them. 

This  sort  of  thing  for  twenty  miles  —  more  than 
a  hard  day's  journey  on  safari.  We  made  it  in  a 
little  less  than  two  hours;  and  the  breeze  of  our 
going  kept  us  reasonably  cool  under  our  awning. 
We  began  to  appreciate  the  real  value  of  our  diplo- 
macy. 

At  noon  we  came  upon  a  series  of  unexpectedly 
green  and  clear  small  hills  just  under  the  frown  of 
a  sheer  rock  cliff.  This  oasis  in  the  thorn  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  few  scattered  native  huts  and  the  usual 
squalid  Indian  dukka,  or  trading  store.  At  this 
last  our  German  friend  stopped.  From  under  the 
of  seat  he  drew  out  a  collapsible  table  and  a  basket 
of  provisions.  These  we  were  invited  to  share. 
Diplomacy's  highest  triumph! 

After  lunch  we  surmounted  our  first  steep  grade 
to  the  top  of  a  ridge.  This  we  found  to  be  the 
beginning  of  a  long  elevated  plateau  sweeping  gently 

200 


THE  FRINGE-EARED  ORYX 

downward  to  a  distant  heat  mist  which  later  ex- 
perience proved  a  concealment  to  snow-capped 
Kilimanjaro.  The  plateau  also  looked  to  be  covered 
with  scrub.  As  we  penetrated  it,  however,  we  found 
the  bushes  were  more  or  less  scattered,  while  in  the 
wide,  shallow  dips  between  the  undulations  were 
open,  grassy  meadows.  There  was  no  water.  Iso- 
lated mountains  or  peaked  hills  showed  here  and 
there  in  the  illimitable  spaces,  some  of  them  fairly 
hull  down,  all  of  them  toilsomely  distant.  This  was 
the  Serengetti  itself. 

In  this  great  extent  of  country  somewhere  were 
game  herds.  They  were  exceedingly  migratory,  and 
nobody  knew  very  much  about  them.  One  of  the 
species  would  be  the  rare  and  localized  fringe-eared 
oryx.  This  beast  was  the  principal  zoological  end 
of  our  expedition;  though,  of  course,  as  always,  we 
hoped  for  a  chance  lion.  Geographically  we  wished 
to  find  the  source  of  the  Swanee  River,  and  to  follow 
that  stream  down  to  its  joining  with  the  Tsavo. 

About  half-past  one  we  passed  our  safari  boys. 
We  had  intended  to  stop  and  replenish  their  canteens 
from  our  water  drums;  but  they  told  us  they  had 
encountered  a  stray  and  astonishing  shower,  and  did 
not  need  more.  We  left  them  trudging  cheerfully 
across  the  desert.  They  had  travelled  most  of  the 
night  before,  would  do  the  same  in  the  night  to 

201 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

come,  and  should  reach  our  camping  place  about 
noon  of  the  next  day. 

We  ourselves  stopped  about  four  o'clock.  In  a 
few  hours  we  had  come  a  hard  three  days'  march. 
Over  the  side  went  our  goods.  We  bade  the  German 
a  very  affectionate  farewell;  for  he  was  still  to  fill 
our  drums  from  one  of  the  streams  out  of  Kiliman- 
jaro and  deliver  them  to  us  on  his  return  trip  next 
day.  We  then  all  turned  to  and  made  camp.  The 
scrub  desert  here  was  exactly  like  the  scrub  desert 
for  the  last  sixty  miles. 

The  next  morning  we  were  up  and  off  before 
sunrise.  In  this  job,  time  was  a  very  large  element 
of  the  contract.  We  must  find  our  fringe-eared 
oryx  before  our  water  supply  gave  out.  Therefore 
we  had  resolved  not  to  lose  a  moment. 

The  sunrise  was  most  remarkable  —  lacework, 
flat  clouds,  with  burnished  copper-coloured  clouds 
behind  glowing  through  the  lace.  We  admired  it 
for  some  few  moments.  Then  one  of  us  happened 
to  look  higher.  There,  above  the  sky  of  the  horizon, 
apparently  suspended  in  midair  halfway  to  the 
zenith,  hung  like  delicate  bubbles  the  double  snow- 
clad  peaks  of  Kilimanjaro.  Between  them  and  the 
earth  we  could  apparently  see  clear  sky.  It  was  in 
reality,  of  course,  the  blue  heat  haze  that  rarely 
leaves  these  torrid  plains.     I  have  seen  many  moun- 

202 


"Kongoni" 


THE  FRINGE-EARED  ORYX 

tains  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  but  none  as  fan- 
tastically insubstantial,  as  wonderfully  lofty,  as 
gracefully  able  to  yield  before  clouds  and  storms 
and  sunrise  glows  all  the  space  in  infinity  they  could 
possibly  use,  and  yet  to  tower  above  them  all  serene 
in  an  upper  space  of  its  own.  Nearly  every  morning 
of  our  journey  to  come  we  enjoyed  this  wonderful 
vision  for  an  hour  or  so.  Then  the  mists  closed  in. 
The  rest  of  the  day  showed  us  a  grayish  sky  along 
the  western  horizon,  with  apparently  nothing  behind 
it. 

In  the  meantime  we  were  tramping  steadily  ahead 
over  the  desert,  threading  the  thorn  scrub,  crossing 
the  wide  shallow  grass-grown  swales,  spying  about 
us  for  signs  of  game.  At  the  end  of  three  or  four 
miles  we  came  across  some  ostrich  and  four  harte- 
beeste.  This  encouraged  us  to  think  we  might  find 
other  game  soon;  for  the  hartebeeste  is  a  gregarious 
animal. 

Suddenly  we  saw  a  medium-sized  squat  beast  that 
none  of  us  recognized,  trundling  along  like  a  badger, 
sixty  yards  ahead.  Any  creature  not  easily  identi- 
fied is  a  scientific  possibility  in  Africa.  Therefore 
we  fired  at  once.  One  of  the  bullets  hit  his  fore- 
paw.  Immediately  this  astonishing  small  creature 
turned  and  charged  us!  If  his  size  had  equalled  his 
ferocity,  he  would  have  been  a  formidable  opponent. 

203 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  had  a  lively  few  minutes.  He  rushed  us  again 
and  again,  uttering  ferocious  growls.  We  had  to 
step  high  and  lively  to  keep  out  of  his  way.  Be- 
tween charges  he  sat  down  and  tore  savagely  at  his 
wounded  paw.  We  wanted  him  as  nearly  perfect 
a  specimen  as  possible,  so  tried  to  rap  him  over  the 
head  with  a  club.  Owing  to  remarkably  long  teeth 
and  claws,  this  was  soon  proved  impracticable;  so 
we  shot  him.  He  weighed  about  thirty  pounds;  and 
we  subsequently  learned  that  he  was  a  honey 
badger,  an  animal  very  rarely  captured. 

We  left  the  boys  to  take  the  whole  skin  and  skull 
of  this  beast,  and  strolled  forward  slowly.  The 
brush  ended  abruptly  in  a  wide  valley.  It  had  been 
burnt  over,  and  the  new  grass  was  coming  up  green. 
We  gave  one  look,  and  sank  back  into  cover. 

The  sparse  game  of  the  immediate  vicinity  had 
gathered  to  this  fresh  feed.  A  herd  of  hartebeeste 
and  gazelle  were  grazing;  and  five  giraffe  adorned 
the  skyline.  But  what  interested  us  especially  was 
a  group  of  about  fifty  cob-built  animals  with  the 
unmistakable  rapier  horns  of  the  oryx.  We  recog- 
nized them  as  the  rarity  we  desired. 

The  conditions  were  most  unfavourable.  The 
cover  nearest  them  gave  a  range  of  three  hundred 
yards;  and  even  this  would  bring  them  directly 
between  us  and  the  rising  sun.     There  was  no  help 

204 


THE  FRINGE-EARED  ORYX 

for  it,  however.  We  made  our  way  to  the  bushes 
nearest  the  herd;  and  I  tried  to  align  the  blurs  that 
represented  my  sights.  At  the  shot,  ineffective, 
they  raced  to  the  right  across  our  front.  We  laid 
low.  As  they  had  seen  nothing  they  wheeled  and 
stopped  after  two  hundred  yards  of  flight.  This 
shift  had  brought  the  light  into  better  position. 
Once  more  I  could  define  my  sights.  From  the 
sitting  position  I  took  careful  aim  at  the  largest 
buck.  He  staggered  twenty  feet  and  fell  dead. 
The  distance  was  just  381  paces.  This  lucky  shot 
was  indeed  fortunate,  for  we  saw  no  more  fringe- 
eared  oryx. 


205 


XXVII 
ACROSS  THE  SERENGETTI 

WE  arrived  in  camp  about  noon,  almost  ex- 
hausted with  the  fierce  heat  and  a  six  hours' 
tramp,  to  find  our  German  friend  awaiting  us.  By 
an  irony  of  fate  the  drums  of  water  he  had  brought 
back  with  him  were  now  unnecessary;  we  had  our 
oryx.  However,  we  wearily  fed  him  lunch  and 
listened  to  his  prattle  and  finally  sped  him  on  his 
way,  hoping  never  to  see  him  again. 

About  three  o'clock  our  men  came  in.  We  doled 
out  water  rations,  and  told  them  to  rest  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  morrow. 

Late  that  night  we  were  awakened  by  a  creaking  and 
snorting  and  the  flash  of  torches  passing.  We  looked 
out  to  see  a  donkey  transport  toiling  slowly  along, 
travelling  thus  at  night  to  avoid  the  terrific  day 
heats.  The  two-wheeled  carts  with  their  wild  and 
savage  drivers  looked  very  picturesque  in  the  flick- 
ering lights.  We  envied  them  vaguely  their  defined 
route  that  permitted  night  travel,  and  sank  to 
sleep. 

206 


ACROSS  THE  SERENGETTI 

In  the  morning,  however,  we  found  they  had  left 
with  us  new  responsibilities  in  the  shape  of  an  elderly 
Somali,  very  sick,  and  down  with  the  fever.  This 
was  indeed  a  responsibility.  It  was  manifestly  im- 
possible for  us  to  remain  there  with  him;  we  should 
all  die  of  thirst.  It  was  equally  impossible  to  take 
him  with  us,  for  he  was  quite  unfit  to  travel  under 
the  sun.  Finally,  as  the  best  solution  of  a  bad  busi- 
ness, we  left  him  five  gallons  of  water,  some  food, 
and  some  quinine,  together  with  the  advice  to  rest 
until  night,  and  then  to  follow  his  companions  along 
the  beaten  track.  What  between  illness  and  wild 
beasts  his  chances  did  not  look  very  good,  but  it 
was  the  best  we  could  do  for  him.  This  incident 
exemplifies  well  the  cruelty  of  this  singular  people. 
They  probably  abandoned  the  old  man  because  his 
groans  annoyed  them,  or  because  one  of  them  wanted 
to  ride  in  his  place  on  the  donkey  cart.* 

We  struck  off  as  early  as  possible  through  the 
thorn  scrub  on  a  compass  bearing  that  we  hoped 
would  bring  us  to  a  reported  swamp  at  the  head  of 
the  Swanee  River.  The  Swanee  River  is  one  of 
the  sources  of  the  Tsavo.  Of  course  this  was  guess- 
work. We  did  not  know  certainly  the  location  of 
the  swamp,  its  distance  from  us,  nor  what  lay  be- 

*I  have  just  heard  that  this  old  man  survived,  and  has  been  singing  our 
praises  in  Nairobi  as  the  saviours  of  his  life. 

207 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

tween  us  and  it.  However,  we  loaded  all  our  trans- 
portable vessels  with  water,  and  set  forth. 

The  scrub  was  all  alike;  sometimes  thinner,  some- 
times thicker.  We  marched  by  compass  until  we 
had  raised  a  conical  hill  above  the  horizon,  and  then 
we  bore  just  to  the  left  of  that.  The  surface  of  the 
ground  was  cut  by  thousands  of  game  tracks.  They 
were  all  very  old,  however,  made  after  a  rain;  and 
it  was  evident  the  game  herds  venture  into  this 
country  only  when  it  contains  rainwater.  After 
two  hours,  however,  we  did  see  one  solitary  harte- 
breste,  whom  we  greeted  as  an  old  friend  in  desola- 
tion. Shortly  afterward  we  ran  across  one  oribi, 
which  I  shot  for  our  own  table. 

At  the  end  of  two  hours  we  sat  down.  The  safari 
of  twenty  men  was  a  very  miscellaneous  lot,  con- 
sisting of  the  rag-tag  and  bobtail  of  the  bazaars 
picked  up  in  a  hurry.  They  were  soft  and  weak, 
and  they  straggled  badly.  The  last  weakling  — 
prodded  along  by  one  of  our  two  askaris  —  limped 
in  only  at  the  end  of  half  an  hour.  Then  we  took 
a  new  start. 

The  sun  was  by  now  up  and  hot.  The  work  was 
difficult  enough  at  best,  but  the  weight  of  the  tropics 
was  now  cast  in  the  scale.  Twice  more  within  the 
next  two  hours  we  stopped  to  let  every  one  catch 
up.     Each  time  this  required  a  longer  interval.     In 

208 


ACROSS  THE  SERENGETTI 

the  thorn  it  was  absolutely  essential  to  keep  in  touch 
with  every  member  of  the  party.  A  man  once  lost 
would  likely  remain  so,  for  we  could  not  afford  to 
endanger  all  for  the  sake  of  one. 

Time  wore  on  until  noon.  Had  it  not  been  for  a 
thin  film  of  haze  that  now  overspread  the  sky,  I 
think  the  sun  would  have  proved  too  much  for  some 
of  the  men.  Four  or  five  straggled  so  very  badly 
that  we  finally  left  them  in  charge  of  one  of  our 
two  askaris,  with  instructions  to  follow  on  as  fast 
as  they  could.  In  order  to  make  this  possible,  we 
were  at  pains  to  leave  a  well-marked  trail. 

After  this  fashion,  slowly,  and  with  growing 
anxiety  for  some  of  the  men,  we  drew  up  on  our 
landmark  hill.  There  our  difficulties  increased;  the 
thorn  brush  thickened.  Only  by  a  series  of  short 
zigzags  and  by  taking  advantage  of  every  rhino 
trail  going  in  our  direction  could  we  make  our  way 
through  it  at  all;  while  to  men  carrying  burdens  on 
their  heads  the  tangle  aloft  must  have  been  fairly 
maddening.  So  slow  did  our  progress  necessarily 
become,  and  so  difficult  was  it  to  keep  in  touch  with 
everybody,  that  F.  and  I  finally  halted  for  consul- 
tation. It  was  decided  that  I  should  push  on  ahead 
with  Memba  Sasa  to  make  certain  that  we  were 
not  on  the  wrong  line,  while  F.  and  the  askaris 
struggled  with  the  safari. 
r-  209 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

Therefore  I  took  my  compass  bearing  afresh,  and 
plunged  into  the  scrub.  The  sensation  was  of 
hitting  solid  ground  after  a  long  walk  through  sand. 
We  seemed  fairly  to  shoot  ahead  and  out  of  sight. 
Whenever  we  came  upon  earth  we  marked  it  deeply 
with  our  heels;  we  broke  twigs  downward,  and  laid 
hastily  snatched  bunches  of  grass  to  help  the  trail 
we  were  leaving  for  the  others  to  follow.  This,  in 
spite  of  our  compass,  was  a  very  devious  track. 
Beside  the  thorn  bushes  were  patches  of  spiky  aloe, 
coming  into  red  flower,  and  the  spears  of  sisal. 

After  an  hour's  steady,  swift  walking  the  general 
trend  of  the  country  began  to  slope  downward. 
This  augured  a  watercourse  between  us  and  the 
hills  around  Kilimanjaro.  There  could  be  no  doubt 
that  we  would  cut  it;  the  only  question  was  whether 
it,  like  so  many  desert  watercourses,  might  not  prove 
empty.  We  pushed  on  the  more  rapidly.  Then 
we  caught  a  glimpse,  through  a  chance  opening,  of 
the  tops  of  trees  below  us.  After  another  hour  we 
suddenly  burst  from  the  scrub  to  a  strip  of  green 
grass  beyond  which  were  the  great  trees,  the  palms, 
and  the  festooned  vines  of  a  watercourse.  Two  bush 
bucks  plunged  into  the  thicket  as  we  approached; 
and  fifteen  or  twenty  mongooses  sat  up  as  straight 
and  stiff  as  so  many  picket  pins  the  better  to  see  us. 

For  a  moment  my  heart  sank.     The  low  under- 

210 


ACROSS  THE  SERENGETTI 

growth  beneath  the  trees  apparently  swept  unbroken 
from  where  we  stood  to  the  low  bank  opposite.  It 
was  exactly"  like  the  shallow  damp  but  waterless 
ravines  at  home,  filled  with  blackberry  vines.  We 
pushed  forward,  however,  and  found  ourselves  look- 
ing down  on  a  smooth,  swift-flowing  stream. 

It  was  not  over  six  feet  wide,  grown  close  with 
vines  and  grasses,  but  so  very  deep  and  swift  and 
quiet  that  an  extraordinary  volume  of  water  passed, 
as  through  an  artificial  aqueduct.  Furthermore, 
unlike  most  African  streams,  it  was  crystal  clear. 
We  plunged  our  faces  and  wrists  in  it,  and  took  long, 
thankful  draughts.  It  was  all  most  grateful  after 
the  scorching  desert.  The  fresh  trees  meeting  in 
canopy  overhead  were  full  of  monkeys  and  bright 
birds;  festooned  vines  swung  their  great  ropes  here 
and  there;  long  heavy  grass  carpeted  underfoot. 

After  we  had  rested  a  few  minutes  we  filled  our 
empty  canteens,  and  prepared  to  start  back  for  our 
companions.  But  while  I  stood  there,  Memba  Sasa, 
good  faithful  Memba  Sasa,  seized  both  canteens 
and  darted  away. 

"Lie  down!"  he  shouted  back  at  me,  "I  will  go 
back." 

Without  protest  —  which  would  have  been  futile 
anyway  —  I  sank  down  on  the  grass.  I  was  very 
tired.     A  little  breeze  followed  the  watercourse;  the 

211 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

grass  was  soft;  I  would  have  given  anything  for  a 
nap.  But  in  wild  Africa  a  nap  is  not  healthy;  so 
I  drowsily  watched  the  mongooses  that  had  again 
come  out  of  seclusion,  and  the  monkeys,  and  the 
birds.  At  the  end  of  a  long  time,  and  close  to  sun- 
down, I  heard  voices.  A  moment  later  F.,  Memba 
Sasa,  and  about  three  quarters  of  the  men  came  in. 
We  all,  white  and  black,  set  to  work  to  make  camp. 
Then  we  built  smudges  and  fired  guns  in  the  faint 
hope  of  guiding  in  the  stragglers.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  we  had  not  the  slightest  faith  in  these  expedients. 
Unless  the  men  were  hopelessly  lost  they  should  be 
able  to  follow  our  trail.  They  might  be  almost 
anywhere  out  in  that  awful  scrub.  The  only  course 
open  to  them  would  be  to  climb  thorn  trees  for  the 
night.  Next  day  we  would  organize  a  formal  search 
for  them. 

In  the  meantime,  almost  dead  from  exhaustion, 
we  sprawled  about  everywhere.  The  men,  too 
dispirited  even  to  start  their  own  campfires,  sat 
around  resting  as  do  boxers  between  rounds.  Then 
to  us  came  Memba  Sasa,  who  had  already  that  day 
made  a  double  journey,  and  who  should  have  been 
the  most  tired  of  all. 

"Bwana,"  said  he,  "if  you  will  lend  me  Winchi,* 
and  a  lantern,  I  will  bring  in  the  men." 

*His  name  for  the  .405  Winchester. 

212 


ACROSS  THE  SERENGETTI 

We  lent  him  his  requirements,  and  he  departed. 
Hours  later  he  returned,  carefully  leaned  "Winchi" 
in  the  corner  of  the  tent,  deposited  the  lantern,  and 
stood  erect  at  attention. 

"Well,  Memba  Sasa?"  I  inquired. 

"The  men  are  here." 

"They  were  far?" 

"Very  far." 

'^  Fema,  Memba  Sasa,  assanti  sana^* 

That  was  his  sole  —  and  sufficient  reward. 

*Very  good,  Memba  Sasa,  thanks  very  much. 


213 


XXVIII 
DOWN  THE  RIVER 

RELIEVED  now  of  all  anxiety  as  to  water  we 
had  merely  to  make  our  way  downstream. 
First,  however,  there  remained  the  interesting  task 
of  determining  its  source. 

Accordingly,  next  day  we  and  our  gunbearers  left 
the  boys  to  a  well-earned  rest,  and  set  out  upstream. 
At  first  we  followed  the  edge  of  the  river  jungle, 
tramping  over  hard  hot  earth,  winding  in  and  out 
growths  of  thorn  scrub  and  brilliant  aloes.  We  saw 
a  herd  of  impallas  gliding  like  phantoms,  and  as  we 
stood  in  need  of  meat,  I  shot  at  one  of  them  but 
missed.  The  air  was  very  hot  and  moist.  At  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  thermometer  had  stood 
at  78;  and  by  noon  it  had  mounted  to  106.  In 
addition  the  atmosphere  was  filled  with  the  humidity 
that  later  in  the  day  was  to  break  in  extraordinary 
deluges.  We  moved  slowly,  but  even  then  our 
garments  were  literally  dripping  wet. 

At  the  end  of  three  miles  the  stream  bed  widened. 
We  came  upon  beautiful,  spacious,  open  lawns  of 

214 


DOWN  THE  RIVER 

from  eighty  to  one  hundred  acres  apiece,  separated 
from  each  other  by  narrow  strips  of  tall  forest  trees. 
The  grass  was  high,  and  waved  in  the  breeze  like 
planted  grain;  the  boundary  trees  resembled  artificial 
windbreaks  of  eucalyptus  or  Normandy  poplar. 
One  might  expect  a  white  ranch  house  beyond  some 
low  clump  of  trees,  and  chicken  runs,  and  corrals. 

Along  these  apparent  boundaries  of  forest  trees 
our  stream  divided,  and  divided  again;  so  that  we 
were  actually  looking  upon  what  we  had  come  to 
seek:  the  source  of  the  Swanee  branch  of  the  Tsavo 
River.  In  these  peaceful,  protected  meadows  was 
it  cradled.  From  them  it  sprang  full  size  out  into 
the  African  wilderness. 

A  fine  impalla  buck  grazed  in  one  of  these  fields. 
I  crept  as  near  him  as  I  could  behind  one  of  the 
windbreak  rows  of  trees.  It  was  not  very  near, 
and  for  the  second  time  I  missed.  Thereupon  we 
decided  two  things:  that  we  were  not  really  meat 
hungry,  and  that  yesterday's  hard  work  was  not 
conducive  to  to-day's  good  shooting. 

Having  thus  accomplished  the  second  object  of 
our  expedition,  we  returned  to  camp.  From  that 
time  begins  a  regular  sequence  of  events  on  which 
I  look  back  with  the  keenest  of  pleasure.  The  two 
constant  factors  were  the  river  and  the  great  dry 
country  on  either  side.     Day  after  day  we  followed 

215 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

down  the  one,  and  we  made  brief  excursions  out 
into  the  other.  Each  night  we  camped  near  the 
sound  of  the  swift-running,  water;  where  the  winds 
rustled  in  the  palms;  the  acacias  made  lacework 
across  the  skies;  and  the  jungle  crouched  in  velvet 
blackness  close  to  earth,  like  a  beast. 

Our  life  in  its  routine  was  regular;  In  its  details 
bizarre  and  full  of  the  unexpected.  Every  morning 
we  arose  an  hour  before  day,  and  ate  by  lantern 
light  and  the  gleam  of  fires.  At  the  first  gray  we 
were  afoot  and  on  the  march.  F.  and  I,  with  our 
gunbearers,  then  pushed  ahead  down  the  river, 
leaving  the  men  to  come  along  as  fast  or  as  slowly 
as  they  pleased.  After  about  six  hours  or  so  of 
marching,  we  picked  out  a  good  camp  site,  and 
lay  down  to  await  the  safari.  By  two  o'clock 
camp  was  made.  Also  it  was  very  hot.  After 
a  light  lunch  we  stripped  to  the  skin,  lay  on 
our  cots  underneath  the  mosquito  canopies,  and 
tried  to  doze  or  read.  The  heat  at  this  time  of 
day  was  blighting.  About  four  o'clock,  if  we  hap- 
pened to  be  Inspired  by  energy,  one  or  the  other  of 
us  strolled  out  at  right  angles  to  the  stream  to  see 
what  we  could  see.  The  evening  was  tepid  and 
beautiful.  Bathed  and  pajama-clad  we  lolled  in 
our  canvas  chairs,  smoking,  chatting,  or  listening 
to  the  innumerable  voices  of  the  night. 

216 


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DOWN  THE  RIVER 

Such  was  the  simple  and  almost  invariable  routine 
of  our  days.  But  enriching  it,  varying  it,  disguising 
it  even — as  rain-squalls,  sunshine,  cloud  shadow,  and 
unexpected  winds  modify  the  landscape  so  well 
known  from  a  study  window  —  were  the  incredible 
incidents  and  petty  adventure  of  African  travel. 

The  topography  of  the  river  itself  might  be  divided 
very  roughly  into  three :  the  headwater  country  down 
to  its  junction  with  the  Tsavo,  the  palm-elephant- 
grass  stretch,  and  the  gorge  and  hill  district  just 
before  it  crosses  the  railroad. 

The  headwater  country  is  most  beautiful.  The 
stream  is  not  over  ten  feet  wide,  but  very  deep, 
swift,  and  clear.  It  flows  between  defined  banks,  and 
is  set  in  a  narrow  strip  of  jungle.  In  places  the  bed 
widens  out  to  a  carpet  of  the  greenest  green  grass 
sown  with  flowers;  at  other  places  it  offers  either 
mysterious  thickets,  spacious  cathedrals,  or  snug 
bowers.  Immediately  beyond  the  edge  of  this  river 
jungle  begins  the  thorn  scrub,  more  or  less  dense. 
Distant  single  mountains  or  buttes  serve  as  land- 
marks in  a  brush-grown,  gently  rising,  strongly 
rolling  country  Occasional  alluvial  flats  draw  back 
to  low  cliffs  not  over  twenty  feet  high. 

After  the  junction  of  the  Tsavo  palms  of  various 
sorts  replace  to  a  large  extent  the  forest  trees. 
Naturally  also  the  stream    widens  and  flows  more 

217 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

slowly.  Outside  the  palms  grow  tall  elephant  grass 
and  bush.  Our  marching  had  generally  to  be  done 
in  the  narrow,  neutral  space  between  these  two 
growths.  It  was  pleasant  enough,  with  the  river 
snatching  at  the  trailing  branches,  and  the  birds  and 
animals  rustling  away.  Beyond  the  elephant-grass 
flats  low  ridges  ran  down  to  the  river,  varying  in 
width,  but  carrying  always  with  them  the  dense 
thorn.  Between  them  ran  recesses,  sometimes  three 
or  four  hundred  acres  in  extent,  high  with  elephant 
grass  or  little  trees  like  popples.  So  much  for  the 
immediate  prospect  on  our  right  as  we  marched. 
Across  the  river  to  our  left  were  huge  riven  moun- 
tains, with  great  cliff^s  and  caiions.  As  we  followed 
necessarily  every  twist  and  turn  of  the  river,  some- 
times these  mountains  were  directly  ahead  of  us, 
then  magically  behind,  so  that  we  thought  we  had 
passed  them  by.  But  the  next  hour  threw  them 
again  across  our  trail.  The  ideal  path  would,  of 
course,  have  cut  across  all  the  bends  and  ridges;  but 
the  thorn  of  the  ridges,  and  the  elephant  grass  of 
the  flats  forbade  it.  So  we  marched  ten  miles  to 
gain  four. 

After  days  of  struggle  and  deception  we  passed 
those  mountains.  Then  we  entered  a  new  type  of 
country  where  the  Tsavo  ran  in  canons  between 
hills.     The  high  cliffs  often  towered  far  above  us; 

218 


DOWN  THE  RIVER 

we  had  to  pick  our  way  along  narrow  river  ledges; 
again  the  river  ran  like  a  trout  stream  over  riffles 
and  rapids,  while  we  sauntered  along  cleared  banks 
beneath  the  trees.  Had  we  not  been  making  a 
forced  march  under  terrific  heat  at  just  that  time, 
this  last  phase  of  the  river  might  have  been  the 
pleasantest  of  all. 

Throughout  the  whole  course  of  our  journey  the 
rhinoceros  was  the  most  abundant  of  the  larger  ani- 
mals. The  indications  of  old  tracks  proved  that  at 
some  time  of  the  year,  or  under  some  different  con- 
ditions, great  herds  of  the  more  gregarious  plains 
antelope  and  zebra  visited  the  river,  but  at  the  time 
of  our  visit  they  lacked.  Rhinoceros,  however,  in 
incredible  numbers  came  regularly  to  water.  Para- 
doxically, we  saw  very  few  of  them;  and  enjoyed 
comparative  immunity  from  their  charges.  This 
was  due  to  the  fact  that  their  habits  and  ours  swung 
in  different  orbits.  The  rhinoceros,  after  drinking 
took  to  the  hot,  dry  thorn  scrub  in  the  low  hills;  and 
as  he  drank  at  night,  we  rarely,  encountered  him  in 
the  river  bottoms  where  we  were  marching.  This 
was  very  lucky,  for  the  cover  was  so  dense  that  a 
meeting  must  necessarily  be  at  close  quarters. 
Indeed  these  large  and  truculent  beasts  were  rather 
a  help  than  a  hindrance,  for  we  often  made  use  of 
their  wide,  clear  paths  to  penetrate  some  particularly 

219 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

distressing  jungle.  However,  we  had  several  small 
adventures  with  them;  just  enough  to  keep  us  alert  in 
rounding  corners,  or  approaching  bushes  —  and  nine 
tenths  of  our  travel  was  bushes  and  corners.  The  big 
flat  footsteps,  absolutely  fresh  in  the  dust,  padded 
methodically  ahead  of  us  down  the  only  way  until  it 
seemed  that  we  could  not  fail  to  plump  upon  their 
maker  around  the  next  bend.  We  crept  forward  foot 
by  foot,  every  sense  alert,  finger  on  trigger.  Then 
after  a  time  the  spoor  turned  off  to  the  right,  toward 
the  hills.  We  straightened  our  backs  and  breathed 
a  sigh  of  relief.     This  happened  over  and  over  again. 

At  certain  times  of  year  also  elephants  frequent  the 
banks  of  the  Tsavo  in  considerable  numbers.  We  saw 
many  old  signs;  and  once  came  upon  the  fresh  path 
of  a  small  herd.  The  great  beasts  had  passed  by  that 
very  morning.  We  gazed  with  considerable  awe  on 
limbs  snatched  bodily  from  trees;  on  flat-topped  aca- 
cias a  foot  in  diameter  pulled  up  by  the  roots  and 
stood  upside  down;  on  tree  trunks  twisted  like  ropes. 

Of  the  game  by  far  the  most  abundant  were  the 
beautiful  red  impalla.  We  caught  glimpses  of  their 
graceful  bodies  gliding  in  and  out  of  sight  through 
the  bushes;  or  came  upon  them  standing  in  small 
openings,  their  delicate  ears  pointed  to  us.  They 
and  the  tiny  dik-dik  furnished  our  table;  and  an 
occasional  waterbuck  satisfied  the  men.     One  day 

220 


DOWN  THE  RIVER 

we  came  on  one  of  the  latter  beasts  sound  asleep 
in  a  tiny  open  space.  He  was  lying  down,  and  his 
nose  rested  against  the  earth,  just  like  a  very  old 
family  horse  in  a  paddock. 

Beside  these  common  species  were  bush  buck, 
warthog,  lesser  kudu,  giraffe,  and  leopard.  The  bush 
buck  we  jumped  occasionally  quite  near  at  hand.  They 
ducked  their  heads  low  and  rushed  tearingly  to  the 
next  cover.  The  leopard  we  heard  sighing  every 
night,  and  saw  their  pad  marks  next  day;  but  only 
twice  did  we  catch  glimpses  of  them.  One  morning  we 
came  upon  the  fresh  killed  carcass  of  a  female  lesser 
kudu  from  which,  evidently,  we  had  driven  the  slayer. 

These  few  species  practically  completed  the  game 
list.  They  were  sufficient  for  our  needs;  and  the 
lesser  kudu  was  a  prize  much  desired  for  our  collec- 
tion. But  by  far  the  most  interesting  to  me  were 
the  smaller  animals,  the  birds,  and  the  strange,  in- 
numerable insects. 

We  saw  no  natives  in  the  whole  course  of  our 
journey. 

The  valley  of  the  river  harboured  many  monkeys. 
They  seemed  to  be  of  two  species,  blue  and  brown, 
but  were  equally  noisy  and  amusing.  They  retired 
ahead  of  our  advance  with  many  remarks,  or  slipped 
past  us  to  the  rear  without  any  comments  whatever. 
When  we  made  camp  they  retired  with  indignant 

221 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

protests,  and  when  we  had  quite  settled  down,  they 
returned  as  near  as  they  dared. 

One  very  hot  afternoon  I  lay  on  my  canvas  cot 
in  the  open  staring  straight  upward  into  the  over- 
arching greenery  of  the  trees.  This  is  a  very  pleasant 
thing  to  do.  The  beautiful  upspreading,  outreach- 
ing  of  the  tree  branches  and  twigs  intrigue  the  eye; 
the  leaves  make  fascinating  hypnotically  waving 
patterns  against  a  very  blue  sky;  and  in  the  chambers 
and  galleries  of  the  upper  world  the  birds  and  in- 
sects carry  on  varied  businesses  of  their  own.  After 
a  time  the  corner  of  my  eye  caught  a  quick  move- 
ment far  to  the  left  and  in  a  shadow.  At  once  I 
turned  my  attention  that  way.  After  minute 
scrutiny  I  at  length  made  out  a  monkey.  Evidently 
considering  himself  quite  unobserved,  he  was  slowly 
and  with  great  care  stalking  our  camp.  Inch  by 
inch  he  moved,  taking  skilful  advantage  of  every  bit 
of  cover,  flattening  himself  along  the  limbs,  hunching 
himself  up  behind  bunches  of  leaves,  until  he  had 
gained  a  big  limb  directly  overhead.  There  he 
stretched  flat,  staring  down  at  the  scene  that  had 
so  strongly  aroused  his  curiosity.  I  lay  there  for 
over  two  hours  reading  and  dozing.  My  friend 
aloft  never  stirred.  When  dusk  fell  he  was  still 
there.  Some  time  after  dark  he  must  have  regained 
his  band,  for  in  the  morning  the  limb  was  vacant. 

222 


DOWN  THE  RIVER 

Now  comes  the  part  of  this  story  that  really  needs 
a  witness,  not  to  veracity  perhaps,  but  to  accuracy 
of  observations.  Fortunately  I  have  F.  About 
noon  next  day  the  monkey  returned  to  his  point  of 
observation.  He  used  the  same  precautions  as  to 
concealment;  he  followed  his  route  of  the  day  before; 
he  proceeded  directly  to  his  old  conning  tower  on 
the  big  limb.  It  did  not  take  him  quite  so  long  to 
get  there,  for  he  had  already  scouted  out  the  trail. 
And  close  at  his  heels  follozved  two  other  monkeys! 
They  crawled  where  he  crawled;  they  scrooched 
where  he  scrooched;  they  hid  where  he  hid;  they  flat- 
tened themselves  out  by  him  on  the  big  limb  and  all 
three  of  them  passed  the  afternoon  gazing  down  on 
the  strange  and  fascinating  things  below.  Whether 
these  newcomers  were  part  of  the  first  one's  family 
out  for  a  treat,  or  whether  they  were  Cook's  Tourists 
of  the  Jungle  in  charge  of  my  friend's  competence 
as  a  guide,  I  do  not  know. 

Farther  down  the  river  F.  and  I  stopped  for  some 
time  to  watch  the  crossing  of  forty-odd  of  the  little 
blue  monkeys.  The  whole  band  clambered  to  near 
the  top  of  a  tall  tree  growing  by  the  water's  edge. 
There,  one  by  one,  they  ran  out  on  a  straight  over- 
hanging limb  and  cast  themselves  into  space.  On 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  and  leaning  well 
out,   grew   a   small   springy   bush.     Each   monkey 

223 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

landed  smash  in  the  middle  of  this;  clasped  it  with 
all  four  hands;  swayed  alarmingly;  recovered  and 
scampered  ashore.  It  was  rather  a  nice  problem 
in  ballistics,  this;  for  the  mistake  in  calculation  of 
a  foot  in  distance  or  a  pound  in  push  would  land 
Mr.  Monkey  in  the  water.  And  the  joke  of  it  was 
that  directly  beneath  that  bush  lay  two  hungry- 
looking  crocodiles!  As  each  tiny  body  hurtled 
through  the  air  I'll  swear  a  look  of  hope  came  into 
the  eyes  of  those  crocs.  We  watched  until  the  last 
had  made  his  leap.  There  were  no  mistakes.  The 
joke  was  on  the  crocodiles. 

We  encountered  quite  a  number  of  dog-faced 
baboons.  These  big  apes  always  retreated  very 
slowly  and  noisily.  Scouts  in  the  rear  guard  were 
continually  ascending  small  trees  or  bushes  for  a 
better  look  at  us,  then  leaping  down  to  make  dis- 
paraging remarks.  One  lot  seemed  to  show  such 
variation  in  colour  from  the  usual  that  we  shot 
one.  The  distance  was  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  Immediately  the  whole  band  —  a  hun- 
dred or  so  strong  —  dropped  on  all  fours  and  started 
in  our  direction.  This  was  rather  terrifying.  How- 
ever, as  we  stood  firm,  they  slowly  came  to  a  halt 
at  about  seventy  yards,  barked  and  chattered  for 
a  moment,  then  hopped  away  to  right  and  left. 


224 


XXIX 
THE  LESSER  KUDU 

ABOUT  eight  o'clock,  the  evening  of  our  first 
day  on  the  Swanee,  the  heat  broke  in  a  trop- 
ical downpour.  We  heard  it  coming  from  a  long 
distance,  like  the  roar  of  a  great  wind.  The  velvet 
blackness,  star  hung,  was  troubled  by  an  invisible, 
blurring  mist,  evidenced  only  through  a  subtle 
effect  on  the  subconsciousness.  Every  leaf  above 
us,  in  the  circle  of  our  firelight,  depended  absolutely 
motionless  from  its  stem.  The  insects  had  ceased 
their  shrilling;  the  night  birds  their  chirping;  the 
animals,  great  and  small,  their  callings  or  their 
stealthy  rustling  to  and  fro.  Of  the  world  of  sound 
there  remained  only  the  crackling  of  our  fires,  the 
tiny  singing  of  the  blood  in  our  ears,  and  that  far- 
off,  portentous  roar.  Our  simple  dispositions  were 
made.  Trenches  had  been  dug  around  the  tents; 
the  pegs  had  been  driven  well  home;  our  stores  had 
been  put  in  shelter.  We  waited  silently,  puffing 
away  at  our  pipes. 
The  roaring  increased  in  volume.     Beneath  it  we 

225 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

began  to  hear  the  long,  rolling  crash  of  thunder. 
Overhead  the  stars,  already  dimmed,  were  suddenly- 
blotted  from  existence.  Then  came  the  rain;  In  a 
literal  deluge;  as  though  the  god  of  floods  had  turned 
over  an  entire  reservoir  with  one  twist  of  his  mighty 
hand.  Our  fire  went  out  instantly;  the  whole  world 
went  out  with  it.  We  lay  on  our  canvas  cots  unable 
to  see  a  foot  beyond  our  tent  opening;  unable  to 
hear  anything  but  the  insistent,  terrible  drumming 
over  our  heads;  unable  to  think  of  anything  through 
the  tumult  of  waters.  As  a  man's  body  might  strug- 
gle from  behind  a  waterfall  through  the  torrents, 
so  our  imaginations,  half-drowned,  managed  dimly 
to  picture  forth  little  bits  —  the  men  huddled  close 
in  their  tiny  tents,  their  cowled  blankets  over  their 
heads.     All  the  rest  of  the  universe  had  gone. 

After  a  time  the  insistent  beat  and  rush  of  waters 
began  to  wear  through  our  patience.  We  willed 
that  this  wracking  tumult  should  cease;  we  willed 
it  with  all  the  force  that  was  in  us.  Then,  as  this 
proved  vain,  we  too  humped  our  spiritual  backs, 
cowled  our  souls  with  patience,  and  waited  dumbly 
for  the  force  of  the  storm  to  spend  itself.  Our 
faculties  were  quite  as  effectually  drowned  out  by 
the  unceasing  roar  and  crash  of  the  waters  as  our 
bodily  comfort  would  have  been  had  we  lacked  the 
protection  of  our  tent. 

226 


THE  LESSER  KUDU 

Abruptly  the  storm  passed.  It  did  not  die  away 
slowly  in  the  diminuendo  of  ordinary  storms.  It 
ceased  as  though  the  reservoir  had  been  tipped  back 
again.  The  rapid  drip  drip  drip  of  waters  now  made 
the  whole  of  sound;  all  the  rest  of  the  world  lay 
breathless.  Then,  inside  our  tent,  a  cricket  struck 
up  bravely. 

This  homely,  cheerful  little  sound  roused  us.  We 
went  forth  to  count  damages  and  to  put  our  house 
in  order.  The  men  hunted  out  dry  wood  and  made 
another  fire;  the  creatures  of  the  jungle  and  the 
stars  above  them  ventured  forth. 

Next  morning  we  marched  into  a  world  swept 
clean.  The  ground  was  as  smooth  as  though  a 
new  broom  had  gone  over  it.  Every  track  now  was 
fresh,  and  meant  an  animal  near  at  hand.  The 
bushes  and  grasses  were  hung  with  jewels.  Merry 
little  showers  shook  down  from  trees  sharing  a 
joke  with  some  tiny  wind.  White  steam  rose  from 
a  moist,  fertile-looking  soil.  The  smell  of  greenhouses 
was  in  the  air.  Looking  back  we  were  stricken 
motionless  by  the  sight  of  Kilimanjaro,  its  twin 
peaks  suspended  against  a  clean  blue  sky,  fresh 
snow  mantling  its  shoulders. 

This  day,  so  cheeringly  opened,  was  destined  to 
fulfil  its  promise.  In  the  dense  scrub  dwells  a 
shy  and  rare  animal  called  the  lesser  kudu,  speci- 

227 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

mens  of  which  we  greatly  desired.  The  beast  keeps 
to  the  thickest  and  driest  cover,  where  it  is  impos- 
sible to  see  fifty  yards  ahead,  but  where  the  slightest 
movement  breaks  one  of  the  numberless  dry  inter- 
lacements of  which  the  place  seems  made.  To 
move  really  quietly  one  could  not  cover  over  a  half 
mile  in  an  hour.  As  the  countryside  extends  a 
thousand  square  miles  or  more,  and  the  lesser  kudu 
is  rare,  it  can  be  seen  that  hunting  them  might  have 
to  be  a  slow  and  painful  process.  We  had  twice 
seen  their  peculiar  tracks. 

On  this  morning,  however,  we  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  beast  itself.  A  flash  of  gray,  with  an  impres- 
sion of  the  characteristic  harnesslike  stripes  —  that 
was  all.  The  trail,  in  the  soft  ground,  was  of  course 
very  plain.  I  left  the  others,  and  followed  it  into 
the  brush.  As  usual  the  thorn  scrub  was  so  thick 
that  I  had  to  stoop  and  twist  to  get  through  it  at 
all,  and  so  brittle  that  the  least  false  move  made  a 
crackling  like  a  fire.  The  rain  of  the  night  before 
had,  however,  softened  the  debris  lying  on  the 
ground.  I  moved  forward  as  quickly  as  I  could, 
half  suffocated  in  the  steaming  heat  of  the  dense 
thicket.  After  three  or  four  hundred  yards  the 
beast  fell  into  a  walk,  so  I  immediately  halted.  I 
reasoned  that  after  a  few  steps  at  this  gait  he  would 
look  back  to  see  whether  or  not  be  was  followed, 

228 


w 


THE  LESSER  KUDU 

If  his  scouting  showed  him  nothing,  he  might  throw 
off  suspicion.  After  ten  minutes  I  crept  forward 
again.  The  spoor  showed  my  surmises  to  be  correct, 
for  I  came  to  where  the  animal  had  turned,  behind 
a  small  bush,  and  had  stood  for  a  few  minutes. 
Taking  up  the  tracks  from  this  point  I  was  delighted 
to  find  that  the  kudu  had  forgotten  its  fear,  and  was 
browsing.  At  the  end  of  five  minutes  more  of  very 
careful  work,  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  see  it, 
feeding  from  the  top  of  a  small  bush  thirty-five 
yards  away.  The  raking  shot  from  the  Springfield 
dropped  it  in  its  tracks. 

It  proved  to  be  a  doe,  a  great  prize  of  course,  but 
not  to  be  compared  with  the  male.  We  skinned 
her  carefully,  and  moved  on,  delighted  to  have  the 
species. 

Our  luck  was  not  over,  however.  At  the  end  of 
six  hours  we  picked  our  camp  in  a  pretty  grove  by 
the  swift-running  stream.  There  we  sat  down  to 
await  the  safari.  The  treetops  were  full  of  both 
the  brown  and  blue  monkeys,  baboons  barked  at 
us  from  a  distance,  the  air  was  musical  with  many 
sweet  birds.  Big  thunder  clouds  were  gathering 
around  the  horizon. 

The  safari  came  in.  Mohamet  immediately  sought 
us  out  to  report,  in  great  excitement,  that  he  had 
seen  five  kudu  across  the  stream.     He  claimed  to 

229 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

have  watched  them  even  after  the  safari  had  passed; 
and  that  they  had  not  been  alarmed.  The  chance 
was  slight  that  those  kudu  could  be  found,  but  still 
it  was  a  chance.  Accordingly  we  rather  reluctantly 
gave  up  our  plans  for  a  loaf  and  a  nap.  Mohamet 
said  the  place  was  an  hour  back;  we  had  had  six 
hours'  march  already.  However,  about  two  o'clock 
we  set  out.  Before  we  had  arrived  quite  at  the 
spot  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  five  kudu  as  they 
dashed  across  a  tiny  opening  ahead  of  us.  They 
had  moved  downstream  and  crossed  the  river. 

It  seemed  rather  hopeless  to  follow  them  into  that 
thick  country  once  they  had  been  alarmed,  but  the 
prize  was  great.  Therefore  Memba  Sasa  and  I  took 
up  the  trail.  We  crept  forward  a  mile,  very  quiet, 
very  tense  —  very  sweaty.  Then  simultaneously 
through  a  chance  opening  and  a  long  distance  away 
we  caught  a  patch  of  gray  with  a  single  transverse 
white  stripe.  There  was  no  chance  to  ascertain  the 
sex  of  the  beast,  nor  what  part  of  its  anatomy  was 
thus  exposed.  I  took  a  bull's-eye  chance  on  that 
patch  of  gray;  had  the  luck  to  hit  it  in  the  middle. 
The  animal  went  down.  Memba  Sasa  leaped  for- 
ward like  a  madman;  I  could  not  begin  to  keep  pace 
with  him.  When  I  had  struggled  through  the 
thorn,  I  found  him  dancing  with  delight. 

*'Monuome,bzuana!  (Buck,  master)!"  he  cried  as 

230 


THE  LESSER  KUDU 

soon  as  he  saw  me,  and  made  a  spiral  gesture  in 
imitation  of  the  male's  beautiful  corkscrew  horns. 

While  the  men  prepared  the  trophy,  F.  and  I 
followed  on  after  the  other  four  to  see  what  they 
would  do,  and  speedily  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
we  were  lucky  to  land  two  of  the  wily  beasts.  The 
four  ran  compactly  together  and  in  a  wide  curve 
for  several  hundred  yards.  Then  two  faced  directly 
back,  while  the  other  two,  one  on  either  side,  made 
a  short  detour  out  and  back  to  guard  the  flanks. 

We  did  not  get  back  to  camp  until  after  dark. 
A  tremendous  pair  of  electric  storms  were  volleying 
and  roaring  at  each  other  across  the  space  of  night; 
leopards  were  crying;  a  pack  of  wild  dogs  were 
barking  vociferously.  The  camp,  as  we  approached 
it,  was  a  globe  of  light  in  a  bower  of  darkness.  The 
fire,  shining  and  flickering  on  the  under  sides  of  the 
leaves,  lent  them  a  strangely  unreal  stagelike  ap- 
pearance; the  porters,  their  half-naked  bodies  and 
red  blankets  catching  the  blaze,  roasted  huge  chunks 
of  meat  over  little  fires. 

We  ate  a  belated  supper  in  comfort,  peace,  and 
satisfaction.  Then  the  storms  joined  forces  and  fell 
upon  us. 


231 


XXX 

ADVENTURES  BY  THE  WAY 

WE  journeyed  slowly  on  down  the  stream. 
Interesting  things  happened  to  us.  The 
impressions  of  that  journey  are  of  two  sorts;  the 
little  isolated  details  and  the  general  background  of 
our  day's  routine,  with  the  gray  dawn,  the  great 
heats  of  the  day,  the  blessed  evening  and  its  fireflies; 
the  thundering  of  heaven's  artillery,  and  the  down- 
pour of  torrents;  the  hot,  high,  crackling  thorn  scrub 
into  which  we  made  excursions;  the  swift-flowing 
river  with  its  palms  and  jungles;  outleaning  palms 
trailing  their  fronds  just  within  the  snatch  of  the 
flood-waters;  wide  flats  in  the  embrace  of  the  river 
bends,  or  extending  into  the  low  hills,  grown  thick 
with  lush  green  and  threaded  with  rhinoceros  paths; 
the  huge  sheer  cliff  mountains  over  the  way;  distant 
single  hills  far  down.  The  mild  discomfort  of  the 
start  before  daylight  clearly  proving  the  thorns 
and  stumbling  blocks;  the  buoyant  cheerfulness  of 
the  first  part  of  the  day,  with  the  grouse  rocketing 
straight  up  out  of  the  elephant  grass,   the  birds 

232 


ADVENTURES  BY  THE  WAY 

singing  everywhere,  and  the  beasts  of  the  jungle 
still  a-graze  at  the  edges;  the  growing  weight  of  the 
sun,  as  though  a  great  pressing  hand  were  laid  upon 
the  shoulders;  the  suffocating,  gasping  heat  of  after- 
noon, and  the  gathering  piling  black  and  white 
clouds;  the  cool  evening  in  pajamas  with  the  fireflies 
flickering  among  the  bushes,  the  river  singing,  and 
little  breezes  wandering  like  pattering  raindrops  in 
the  dry  palm  leaves  —  all  these,  by  repetition  of  main 
elements,  blend  in  my  memory  to  form  a  single  image. 
To  be  sure  each  day  the  rock  pinnacles  over  the  way 
changed  slightly  their  compass  bearings,  and  little 
variations  of  contour  lent  variety  to  the  procession 
of  days.     But  in  essential  they  were  of  one  kin. 

But  here  and  there  certain  individual  scenes  and 
incidents  stand  out  clearly  and  alone.  Without 
reference  to  my  notebook  I  could  not  tell  you  their 
chronological  order,  nor  the  days  of  their  happening. 
They  occurred,  without  correlation. 

Thus  one  afternoon  at  the  loafing  hour,  when  F. 
was  sound  asleep  under  his  mosquito  bar,  and  I 
in  my  canvas  chair  was  trying  to  catch  the  breeze 
from  an  approaching  deluge,  to  me  came  a  total 
stranger  in  a  large  turban.  He  was  without  arms 
or  baggage  of  any  sort,  an  alien  in  a  strange  and 
savage  country. 

233 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

"Jambo,  bwana  nCkuhwal  (Greeting,  great  mas- 
ter!)" said  he. 

^^Jambo,''^  said  I,  as  though  his  existence  were 
not  in  the  least  surprising,  and  went  on  reading. 
This  showed  him  that  I  was  indeed  a  great  master. 

After  a  suitable  interval,  I  looked  up. 

^^Wataka  neenee?  (What  do  you  want?)"  I  de- 
manded. 

^^Nataka  sema  qua  heri  (I  want  to  say  good- 
bye)," said  this  astonishing  individual. 

I  had,  until  that  moment,  been  quite  unaware  of 
his  existence.  As  he  had  therefore  not  yet  said 
"How  do  you  do,"  I  failed  to  fathom  his  reasons 
for  wanting  to  say  "good-bye."  However,  far  be  it 
from  me  to  deny  any  one  innocent  pleasure,  so  I 
gravely  bade  him  good-bye,  and  he  disappeared  into 
the  howling  wilderness  whence  he  had  come. 

One  afternoon  we  came  upon  two  lemurs  seated 
gravely  side  by  side  on  a  horizontal  limb  ten  feet  up 
a  thorn  tree.  They  contemplated  us  with  the  preter- 
natural gravity  of  very  young  children,  and  without 
the  slightest  sign  of  fear.  We  coveted  them  as 
pets  for  Billy,  but  soon  discovered  that  their  apparent 
tameness  was  grounded  on  good  solid  common  sense. 

The  thorns  of  that  thorn  tree !     We  left  them 

sitting  upright,  side  by  side. 

234 


ADVENTURES  BY  THE  WAY 

A  little  farther  on,  and  up  a  dry  earthy  side  hill, 
a  medium-sized  beast  leaped  from  an  eroded  place 
fairly  under  my  feet  and  made  off  with  a  singularly 
familiar  kiyi.  It  was  a  strange-looking  animal,  ap- 
parently brick  red  in  colour.  When  I  had  collected 
myself  I  saw  it  was  a  wild  dog.  It  had  been  asleep 
in  a  warm  hollow  of  red  clay,  and  had  not  awakened 
until  I  was  fairly  upon  it.  We  had  heard  these 
beasts  nearly  every  night,  but  this  was  the  first  we 
had  seen.  Some  days  later  we  came  upon  the 
entire  pack  drinking  at  the  river.  They  leaped 
suddenly  across  our  front  eighty  yards  away,  their 
heads  all  turned  toward  us  truculently,  barking  at 
us  like  so  many  watch  dogs.  They  made  off,  but 
not  as  though  particularly  alarmed. 

One  afternoon  I  had  wounded  a  good  warthog 
across  the  river;  and  had  gone  downstream  to  find 
a  dry  way  over.  F.,  more  enthusiastic,  had  plunged 
in,  and  promptly  attacked  the  warthog.  He  was 
armed  with  the  English  service  revolver  shooting 
the  .455  Ely  cartridge.  It  is  a  very  short  stubby 
bit  of  ammunition.  I  had  often  cast  doubt  on  its 
driving  power  as  compared  to  the  .45  Colt,  for 
example.  F.,  as  a  loyal  Englishman,  had,  of  course, 
defended  his  army's  weapon.  When  I  reached  the 
centre  of  disturbance  I  found  that  F.  had  emptied 

235 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

his  revolver  three  times  —  eighteen  shots  —  into  the 
head  and  forequarters  of  that  warthog  without 
much  effect.  Incidentally  the  warthog  had  given 
him  a  good  lively  time,  charging  again  and  again. 
The  weapon  has  not  nearly  the  shocking  power  of 
even  our  .38  service  —  a  cartridge  determined  as  too 
light  for  serious  business. 

One  afternoon  I  gave  my  shotgun  to  one  of  the 
porters  to  carry  afield,  remarking  facetiously  to  all 
and  sundry  that  he  looked  like  a  gunbearer.  After 
twenty  minutes  we  ran  across  a  rhinoceros.  I  spent 
some  time  trying  to  manoeuvre  into  position  for  a 
photograph  of  the  beast.  However,  the  attempt 
failed.  We  managed  to  dodge  his  rush.  Then, 
after  the  excitement  had  died,  we  discovered  the 
porter  and  the  shotgun  up  a  tree.  He  descended 
rather  shamefaced.  Nobody  said  anything  about 
it.  A  half  hour  later  we  came  upon  another  rhino- 
ceros. The  beast  was  visible  at  some  distance, 
and  downhill.  Nevertheless  the  porter  moved  a 
little  nearer  a  tree.  This  was  too  much  for  Memba 
Sasa.  All  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  he  "joshed" 
that  porter  in  much  the  same  terms  we  would  have 
employed  in  the  same  circumstances. 

"That  place  ahead,"  said  he,  "looks  like  a  good  place 
for  rhinoceros.     Perhaps  you'd  better  climb  a  tree." 

236 


ADVENTURES  BY  THE  WAY 

"There  is  a  dik-dik;  a  bush  is  big  enough  to  climb 
for  him." 

"Are  you  afraid  of  jackals,  too?" 

The  fireflies  were  our  regular  evening  companions. 
We  caught  one  or  two  of  them  for  the  pleasure  of 
watching  them  alternately  igniting  and  extinguishing 
their  little  lamps.  Even  when  we  put  them  in  a 
bottle  they  still  kept  up  their  performance  bravely. 

But  beside  them  we  had  an  immense  variety  of 
evening  visitors.  Beetles  of  the  most  inconceivable 
shapes  and  colours,  all  sorts  of  moths,  and  number- 
less strange  things — leaf  insects,  walking-stick  insects, 
exactly  like  dry  twigs,  and  the  fierce,  tall,  praying 
mantis  with  their  mock  air  of  meekness  and  devotion. 
Let  one  of  the  other  insects  stray  within  reach  and 
their  piety  was  quickly  enough  abandoned!  One 
beetle  about  three  eighths  of  an  inch  across  was 
oblong  in  shape  and  of  pure  glittering  gold.  His 
wing  covers,  on  the  other  hand,  were  round  and 
transparent.  The  effect  was  of  a  jewel  under  a 
tiny  glass  case.  Other  beetles  were  of  red  dotted 
with  black,  or  of  black  dotted  with  red ;  they  sported 
stripes,  or  circles  of  plain  colours;  they  wore  long 
slender  antennae,  or  short  knobby  horns;  they  car- 
ried rapiers  or  pinchers,  long  legs  or  short.  In  fact 
they  ran  the  gamut  of   grace  and  horror,  so  that 

237 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

an  inebriate  would  find  here  a  great  rest  for  the 
imagination. 

After  we  had  gone  to  bed  we  noticed  more  pleas- 
antly our  cricket.  He  piped  up,  you  may  remember, 
the  night  of  the  first  great  storm.  That  evening  he 
took  up  his  abode  in  some  fold  or  seam  of  our  tent, 
and  there  stayed  throughout  all  the  rest  of  the 
journey.  Every  evening  he  tuned  up  cheerfully; 
and  we  dropped  to  sleep  to  the  sound  of  his  homelike 
piping.  We  grew  very  fond  of  him;  as  one  does  of 
everything  in  this  wild  and  changing  country  that 
can  represent  a  stable  point  of  habitude. 

Nor  must  I  forget  one  evening  when  all  of  a  sudden 
out  of  the  darkness  came  a  tremendous  hollow 
booming,  like  the  beating  of  war  drums  or  the 
bellowing  of  some  strange  great  beast.  At  length 
we  identified  the  performer  as  an  unfamiliar  kind 
of  frog! 


238 


XXXI 

THE  LOST  SAFARI 

WE  were  possessed  of  a  map  of  sorts,  consisting 
mostly  of  wide  blank  spaces,  with  an  oc- 
casional tentative  mountain,  or  the  probable  course 
of  streams  marked  thereon.  The  only  landmark 
that  interested  us  was  a  single  round  peak  situated 
south  of  our  river  and  at  a  point  just  before  we 
should  cross  the  railroad  at  Tsavo  Station.  There 
came  a  day  when,  from  the  top  of  a  hill  where  we 
had  climbed  for  the  sake  of  the  outlook,  we  thought 
we  recognized  that  peak.  It  was  about  five  miles 
away  as  the  crow  flies. 

Then  we  returned  to  camp  and  made  the  fatal 
mistake  of  starting  to  figure.  We  ought  to  cover 
the  distance,  even  with  the  inevitable  twists  and 
turns,  in  a  day;  the  tri-weekly  train  passed  through 
Tsavo  the  following  night;  if  we  could  catch  that 
we  would  save  a  two  days'  wait  for  the  next  train. 
You  follow  the  thought.  We  arose  very  early  the 
next  morning  to  get  a  good  start  on  our  forced  march. 

There  is  no  use  in  spinning  out  a  sad  tale.     We 

239 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

passed  what  we  thought  must  be  our  landmark  hill 
just  eleven  times.  The  map  showed  only  one  butte; 
as  a  matter  of  fact  there  were  dozens.  At  each 
disappointment  we  had  to  reconstruct  our  theories. 
It  is  the  nature  of  man  to  do  this  hopefully  —  Tsavo 
Station  must  be  just  around  the  next  bend.  We 
marched  six  hours  without  pause;  then  began  to 
save  ourselves  a  little.  By  all  the  gods  of  logical 
reasoning  we  proved  Tsavo  just  beyond  a  certain 
fringe  of  woods.  When  we  arrived  we  found  that 
there  the  river  broke  through  a  range  of  hills  by  way 
of  a  deep  gorge.  It  was  a  change  from  the  ever- 
lasting scrub,  with  its  tumbling  waters,  its  awful 
cliffs,  its  luxuriant  tropical  growths;  but  it  was  by 
that  the  more  difficult  to  make  our  way  through. 
Beyond  the  gorge  we  found  any  amount  of  hills, 
kopjes,  buttes,  sugar  loafs,  etc.,  each  isolated  from 
its  fellows,  each  perfectly  competent  to  serve  as 
the  map's  single  landmark. 

We  should  have  camped,  but  we  were  very  anxious 
to  make  that  train;  and  we  were  convinced  that 
now,  after  all  that  work,  Tsavo  could  not  be  far 
away.  It  would  be  ridiculous  and  mortifying  to 
find  we  had  camped  almost  within  sight  of  our  desti- 
nation ! 

The  heat  was  very  bad,  and  the  force  of  the  sun 
terrific.     It    seemed    to    possess    actual    physical 

24JO 


THE  LOST  SAFARI 

weight,  and  to  press  us  down  from  above.  We 
filled  our  canteens  many  times  at  the  swift-running 
stream,  and  emptied  them  as  often.  By  two  o'clock 
F.  was  getting  a  little  wobbly  from  the  sun.  We 
talked  of  stopping;  when  an  unexpected  thunder 
shower  rolled  out  from  behind  the  mountains,  and 
speedily  overcast  the  entire  heavens.  This  shadow 
relieved  the  stress.  F.,  much  revived,  insisted  that 
we  proceed.  So  we  marched;  and  passed  many  more 
hills. 

In  the  meantime  it  began  to  rain,  after  the  whole- 
hearted tropical  fashion.  In  two  minutes  we  were 
drenched  to  the  skin.  I  kept  my  matches  and  note- 
book dry  by  placing  them  in  the  crown  of  my  cork 
helmet.  After  the  intense  heat  this  tepid  downpour 
seemed  to  us  delicious. 

And  then,  quite  unexpectedly,  of  course,  we  came 
around  a  bend  to  make  out  through  the  sheets  of 
rain  the  steel  girders  of  the  famous  Tsavo  bridge.* 

We  clambered  up  a  steep  slippery  bank  to  the 
right  of  way,  along  which  we  proceeded  half  a  mile 
to  the  station.     ' 

This  consisted  of  two  or  three  native  huts,  a  house 
for  the  East  Indian  in  charge,  and  the  Station  build- 
ing itself.     The  latter  was  a  small  frame  structure 

*This  is  the  point  at  which  construction  was  stopped  by  man-eating  lions. 
See  Patterson's  "The  Man-eaters  of  Tsavo." 

241 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

with  a  narrow  floorless  veranda.  There  was  no 
platform.  Drawing  close  on  all  sides  was  the  in- 
terminable thorn  scrub.  Later,  when  the  veil  of 
rain  had  been  drawn  aside,  we  found  that  Tsavo, 
perched  on  a  side  hill,  looked  abroad  over  a  wide 
prospect.  For  the  moment  all  we  saw  was  a  dark, 
dismal,  dripping  station  wherein  was  no  sign  of  life. 

We  were  beginning  to  get  chilly,  and  we  wanted 
very  much  some  tea,  fire,  a  chance  to  dry,  pending 
the  arrival  of  our  safari.  We  jerked  open  the  door 
and  peered  into  the  inky  interior 

"Babu!"  yelled  F.,  "Babu!" 

From  an  inner  back  room  came  the  faint  answer 
in  most  precise  English. 

"I  can-not  come;  I  am  pray-ing." 

There  followed  the  sharp,  quick  tinkle  of  a  little 
bell  —  the  Indian  manner  of  calling  upon  the  Lord's 
attention. 

We  both  knew  better  than  to  buck  the  Insti- 
tutions of  the  East;  so  we  waited  with  what 
patience  we  had,  listening  to  the  intermittent  tink- 
ling of  the  little  bell.  At  the  end  of  fully  fifteen 
minutes  the  devotee  appeared.  He  proved  to  be 
a  mild,  deprecating  little  man,  very  eager  to  help, 
but  without  resources.  He  was  a  Hindu,  and  lived 
mainly  on  tea  and  rice.  The  rice  was  all  out,  but 
he  expected  more  on  the  night  train.     There  was  no 

242 


THE  LOST  SAFARI 

trading  store  here.  He  was  the  only  inhabitant. 
After  a  few  more  answers  he  disappeared,  to  return 
carrying  two  pieces  of  letter  paper  on  which  were 
tea  and  a  little  coarse  native  sugar.  These,  with  a 
half  dozen  very  small  potatoes,  were  all  he  had  to 
offer. 

It  did  not  look  very  encouraging.  We  had  ab- 
solutely nothing  in  which  to  boil  water.  Of  course 
we  could  not  borrow  of  our  host;  caste  stood  in  the 
way  there.  If  we  were  even  to  touch  one  of  his 
utensils,  that  utensil  was  for  him  defiled  forever. 
Nevertheless  as  we  had  eaten  nothing  since  four 
o'clock  that  morning,  and  had  put  a  hard  day's  work 
behind  us,  we  made  an  effort.  After  a  short  search 
we  captured  a  savage  possessed  of  a  surfuria,  or 
native  cooking  pot.  Memba  Sasa  scrubbed  this 
with  sand.  First  we  made  tea  in  it,  and  drank  turn 
about,  from  its  wide  edge.  This  warmed  us  up 
somewhat.  Then  we  dumped  in  our  few  potatoes 
and  a  single  guinea  fowl  that  F.  had  decapitated 
earlier  in  the  day.  We  ate;  and  passed  the  pot  over 
to  Memba  Sasa. 

So  far,  so  good;  but  we  were  still  very  wet,  and  the 
uncomfortable  thought  would  obtrude  Itself  that 
the  safari  might  not  get  In  that  day.  It  behooved 
us  at  least  to  dry  what  we  had  on.  I  hunted  up 
Memba  Sasa,  whom  I  found  In  a  native  hut.     A 

243 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

fire  blazed  in  the  middle  of  the  floor.  I  stooped  low 
to  enter,  and  squatted  on  my  heels  with  the  natives. 
Slowly  I  steamed  off'  the  surface  moisture.  We  had 
rather  a  good  time,  chatting  and  laughing.  After 
a  while  I  looked  out.  It  had  stopped  raining.  There- 
fore I  emerged  and  set  some  of  the  men  collecting 
firewood.  Shortly  I  had  a  fine  little  blaze  going 
under  the  veranda  roof  of  the  station.  F.  and  I 
hung  out  our  breeches  to  dry,  and  spread  the  tails 
of  our  skirts  over  the  heat.  F.  was  actually  the 
human  chimney,  for  the  smoke  was  pouring  in  clouds 
from  the  breast  and  collar  of  his  shirt.  We  were 
fine  figures  for  the  public  platform  of  a  railway 
station ! 

We  had  just  about  dried  off  and  had  reassumed  our 
thin  and  scanty  garments,  when  the  babu  emerged. 
We  stared  in  drop-jawed  astonishment.  He  had 
muffled  his  head  and  mouth  in  a  most  brilliant  scarf, 
as  if  for  zero  weather;  although  dressed  otherwise 
in  the  usual  pongee.  Under  one  arm  he  carried  a 
folded  clumsy  cotton  umbrella;  around  his  waist  he 
had  belted  a  huge  knife;  in  his  other  hand  he  carried 
his  battle-axe.  I  mean  just  that  —  his  battle-axe. 
We  had  seen  such  things  on  tapestries  or  in  mu- 
seums, but  did  not  dream  that  they  still  existed 
out  of  captivity.  This  was  an  oriental  looking 
battle-axe  with  a  handle  three  feet  long,  a  spike  up 

244 


THE  LOST  SAFARI 

top,  a  spike  out  behind,  and  a  half-moon  blade  in 
front.  The  babu  had  with  a  little  of  his  signal  paint 
done  the  whole  thing,  blade  and  all,  to  a  brilliant 
window-shutter  green. 

As  soon  as  we  had  recovered  our  breath,  we  asked 
him  very  politely  the  reason  for  these  stupendous 
preparations.  It  seemed  that  it  was  his  habit  to 
take  a  daily  stroll  just  before  sunset,  "for  the 
sake  of  the  health,"  as  he  told  us  in  his  accurate 
English. 

"The  bush  is  full  of  bad  men,"  he  explained, 
"who  would  like  to  kill  me;  but  when  they  see  this 
axe  and  this  knife  they  say  to  each  other,  'There 
walks  a  very  bad  man.     We  dare  not  kill  him.'  " 

He  marched  very  solemnly  a  quarter  mile  up  the 
track  and  back,  always  in  plain  view.  Promptly 
on  his  return  he  dove  into  his  little  back  room  where 
the  periodic  tinkling  of  his  praying  bell  for  some 
time  marked  his  gratitude  for  having  escaped  the 
"bad  men." 

The  bell  ceased.  Several  times  he  came  to  the 
door,  eyed  us  timidly,  and  bolted  back  into  the 
darkness.  Finally  he  approached  to  within  ten  feet, 
twisted  his  hands  and  giggled  in  a  most  deprecating 
fashion. 

"What  is  the  use  of  this  killing  game?"  he  gabbled 
as  rapidly  as  he  could.  "Man  should  not  destroy 

245 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

what  man  cannot  first  create."  After  which  he 
giggled  again,  and  fled. 

His  conscience,  evidently,  had  driven  him  to  this 
defiance  of  our  high  and  mightinesses  against  his 
sense  of  politeness  and  his  fears. 

About  this  time  my  boy  Mohamet  and  the  cook 
drifted  in.  They  reported  that  they  had  left  the 
safari  not  far  back.  Our  hopes  of  supper  and 
blankets  rose.  They  declined,  however,  with  the 
gathering  darkness,  and  were  replaced  by  wrath 
against  the  faithless  ones.  Memba  Sasa,  in  spite 
of  his  long  day,  took  a  gun  and  disappeared  in  the 
darkness.  He  did  not  get  back  until  nine  o'clock, 
when  he  suddenly  appeared  in  the  doorway  to  lean 
the  gun  in  the  corner,  and  to  announce,  ^^Hapana 
safari. ^^ 

We  stretched  ourselves  on  a  bench  and  a  table  — 
the  floor  was  impossible  —  and  took  what  sleep  we 
could.  In  the  small  hours  the  train  thundered 
through,  the  train  we  had  hoped  to  catch  I 


246 


XXXII 

THE   BABU 

WE  stretched  ourselves  stiffly  in  the  first  gray  of 
dawn,  wondering  where  we  could  get  a 
mouthful  of  breakfast.  On  emerging  from  the  station 
a  strange  and  gladsome  sight  met  our  eyes  —  viz., 
chop  boxes  and  gun  cases  put  off  from  last  night's 
train,  and  belonging  to  some  sportsman  not  yet 
arrived.  Necessity  knows  no  law;  so  we  promptly 
helped  ourselves  to  food  and  gun  cleaning  imple- 
ments. Much  refreshed  we  lit  our  pipes,  and  settled 
ourselves  to  wait  for  our  delinquents. 

Shortly  after  sunrise  an  Indian  track  inspector 
trundled  in  on  a  handcar  propelled  by  two  natives. 
He  was  a  suave  and  corpulent  person  with  a  very 
large  umbrella  and  beautiful  silken  garments. 
The  natives  upset  the  handcar  off  the  track,  and 
the  newcomer  settled  himself  for  an  enjoyable 
morning.  He  and  the  babu  discussed  ethics  and 
metaphysical  philosophy  for  three  solid  hours.  Evi- 
dently they  came  from  different  parts  of  India,  and 
their  only  common  language  was  English.     Through 

247 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  thin  partition  in  the  station  building  we  could 
hear  plainly  every  word.  It  was  very  interesting. 
Especially  did  we  chortle  with  delight  when  the 
inspector  began  one  of  his  arguments  somewhat  as 
follows : 

"Now  the  two  English  who  are  here.  They 
possess  great  sums  of  wealth"  — F.  nudged  me  de- 
lightedly, "and  they  have  weapons  to  kill,  and  much 
with  which  to  do  things,  yet  their  savage  minds " 

It  was  plain,  rank,  eavesdropping,  but  most 
illuminating,  thus  to  get  at  first  hand  the  Eastern 
point  of  view  as  to  ourselves;  to  hear  the  bloodless, 
gentle  shell  of  Indian  philosophy  described  by  be- 
lievers. They  discussed  the  most  minute  and  im- 
practical points,  and  involved  themselves  in  the  most 
uncompromising  dilemmas. 

Thus  the  gist  of  one  argument  was  as  follows: 
All  sexual  intercourse  is  sin,  but  the  race  must  go 
forward  by  means  of  sexual  intercourse;  therefore 
the  race  is  conceived  in  sin  and  is  sinful;  but  it  Is  a 
great  sin  for  me,  as  an  individual,  not  to  carry 
forward  the  race,  since  the  Divine  Will  decrees  that 
in  some  way  the  race  is  necessary  to  it.  Therefore 
it  would  seem  that  man  is  in  sin  whichever  way  you 
look  at  it " 

"But,"  interposes  the  inspector  firmly  but 
politely,  "Is  It  not  possible  that  sexual  sin  and  the 

248 


'Each  day  the  pinnacles  over  the  way  changed  slightly 
their  compass  directions" 


< 


THE  BABU 

sin  of  opposing  Divine  Will  may  be  of  balance  in  the 
spirit,  so  that  in  resisting  one  sort  a  man  acquires 

virtue   to  commit  the  other  without   harm " 

And  so  on  for  hours. 

At  twelve-thirty  the  safari  drifted  in.  Consider 
that  fact,  and  what  it  meant.  The  plain  duty  of 
the  headman  was,  of  course,  to  have  seen  that  the 
men  followed  us  in  the  day  before.  But  allowing, 
for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  this  was  impossible 
and  that  the  men  had  been  forced  by  the  exhaustion 
of  some  of  their  number  to  stop  and  camp.  If  they 
had  arisen  betimes  they  should  have  completed  the 
journey  in  two  hours,  at  most.  That  should  have 
brought  them  in  by  half-past  seven  or  eight  o'clock. 
But  a  noon  arrival  condemned  them  without  the 
necessity  of  argument.  They  had  camped  early; 
had  arisen  very,  very  late;  and  had  dawdled  on 
the  road. 

We  ourselves  gave  the  two  responsible  headmen 
twenty  lashes  apiece;  then  turned  over  to  them  the 
job  of  thrashing  the  rest.  Ten  per  man  was  the 
allotment.  They  expected  the  punishment;  took  it 
gracefully.  Some  even  thanked  us  when  it  was 
over!     The  babu  disappeared  in  his  station. 

About  an  hour  later  he  approached  us,  very 
deprecating,  and  handed  us  a  telegram.  It  was 
from  the  district   commissioner  at  Voi  ordering   us 

249 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

to  report  for  "flogging  porters  on  the  Tsavo  Sta- 
tion platform." 

"I  am  truly  sorry,  I  am  truly  sorry,"  the  babu 
was  murmuring  at  our  elbows. 

"What  does  this  mean?"  we  demanded  of  him. 

He  produced  a  thick  book. 

"It  is  in  here  —  the  law,"  he  explained.  "You 
must  not  flog  men  on  the  station  platform.  It  was 
my  duty  to  report." 

"How  did  we  know  that }  Why  didn't  you  tell  us  ?" 

"If  you  had  gone  there"  —  he  pointed  ten  feet 
away  to  a  spot  exactly  like  all  other  spots  —  "  it 
would  have  been  off  the  platform.  Then  I  had 
nothing  to  say." 

We  tried  to  become  angry. 

"But  why  in  blazes  couldn't  you  have  told  us  of 
that  quietly  and  decently.'*     We'd  have  moved." 

"It  is  the  law "     He  tapped  his  thick  book. 

"But  we  cannot  be  supposed  to  know  by  heart 
every  law  in  that  book.  Why  didn't  you  warn  us 
before  reporting.'*"  we  insisted. 

"lam  truly  sorry,"  he  repeated.  "I  hope  and 
trust  it  will  not  prove  serious.  But  it  is  in  the 
book." 

We  continued  in  the  same  purposeless  fashion 
for  a  moment  or  so  longer.  Then  the  babu  ended 
the  discussion  thus: 

250 


THE  BABU 

"It  was  my  duty.  I  am  truly  sorry.  Suppose  I 
had  not  reported  and  should  die  to-day,  and  should 
go  to  heaven,  and  God  should  ask  me,  'Have  you 
done  your  duty  to-day?'  what  should  I  say  to  Him?" 

We  gave  it  up;  we  were  up  against  Revealed 
Religion. 

So  that  night  we  took  a  freight  train  southward  to 
Voi,  leaving  the  babu  and  his  prayer  bell,  and  his 
green  battle-axe  and  his  conscience  alone  in  the 
wilderness.     We  had  quite  a  respect  for  that  babu. 

The  district  commissioner  listened  appreciatively 
to  our  tale. 

"Of  course  I  shall  not  carry  the  matter  further," 
he  told  us,  "but  having  known  the  babu,  you  must 
see  _  that  once  he  had  reported  to  me  I  was  com- 
pelled to  order  you  down  here.  I  am  sorry  for  the 
inconvenience." 

And  when  we  reflected  on  the  cataclysmic  up- 
heaval that  babu  would  have  undergone  had  we  not 
been  summoned  after  breaking  one  of  The  Laws 
in  The  Book,  we  had  to  admit  the  district  com- 
missioner was  right. 


251 


PART  VI 
IN  MASAILAND 


XXXIII 
OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

OWING  to  an  outbreak  of  bubonic  plague, 
and  consequent  quarantine,  we  had  recruited 
our  men  outside  Nairobi  and  had  sent  them,  in 
charge  of  Cuninghame,  to  a  little  station  up  the 
line. 

Billy  and  I  saw  to  the  loading  of  our  equipment 
on  the  train,  and  at  two  o'clock,  in  solitary  state, 
set  forth.  Our  only  attendants  were  Mohamet  and 
Memba  Sasa,  who  had  been  fumigated  and  in- 
oculated and  generally  Red-Crossed  for  the  purpose. 

The  little  narrow-gauge  train  doubled  and  twisted 
in  its  climb  up  the  range  overlooking  Nairobi  and 
the  Athi  Plains.  Fields  of  corn  grew  so  tall  as 
partially  to  conceal  villages  of  round,  grass-thatched 
huts  with  conical  roofs;  we  looked  down  into  deep 
ravines  where  grew  the  broad-leaved  bananas;  the 
steep  hillsides  had  all  been  carefully  cultivated. 
Savages  leaning  on  spears  watched  us  puff  heavily 
by.  Women,  richly  ornamented  with  copper  wire  or 
beads,   toiled   along  bent  under  loads   carried   by 

255 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

means  of  a  band  across  the  top  of  the  head.*  Naked 
children  rushed  out  to  wave  at  us.  We  were  steam- 
ing quite  comfortably  through  Africa  as  it  had  been 
for  thousands  of  years  before  the  white  man  came. 

At  Kikuyu  Station  we  came  to  a  halt.  Kikuyu 
Station  ordinarily  embarks  about  two  passengers  a 
month,  I  suppose.  Now  it  was  utterly  swamped 
with  business,  for  on  it  had  descended  all  our  safari 
of  thirty-nine  men  and  three  mules.  Thirty  of  the 
thirty-nine  yelled  and  shrieked  and  got  in  the  wrong 
place,  as  usual.  Cuninghame  and  the  trainmen  and 
the  station  master  and  our  responsible  boys  heaved 
and  tugged  and  directed,  ordered,  commanded.  At 
length  the  human  element  was  loaded  to  its  places 
and  locked  in.  Then  the  mules  were  to  be  urged  up  a 
very  narrow  gangplank  into  a  dangerous-looking  car. 
Quite  sensibly  they  declined  to  take  chances.  We 
persuaded  them.  The  process  was  quite  simple. 
Two  of  the  men  holding  the  ends  at  a  safe  distance 
stretched  a  light  strong  cord  across  the  beasts'  hind 
legs,  and  sawed  it  back  and  forth. 

We  clanged  the  doors  shut,  climbed  aboard,  and 
the  train  at  last  steamed  on.  Now  bits  of  forest 
came  across  our  way,  deep,  shaded,  with  trailing  cur- 
tain vines,  and  wide  leaves  big  as  table  tops,  and 
high  lush  impenetrable  undergrowth  full  of  flashing 

*After  the  fashion  of  the  Canadian  tump  line. 

256 


OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

birds,  fathomless  shadows  and  Inquisitive  monkeys. 
Occasionally  we  emerged  to  the  edge  of  a  long  oval 
meadow,  set  in  depressions  among  hills,  like  our 
Sierra  meadows.  Indeed  so  like  were  these  openings 
to  those  in  our  own  wooded  mountains  that  we 
always  experienced  a  distinct  shock  of  surprise  as  the 
familiar  woods  parted  to  disclose  a  dark  solemn 
savage  with  flashing  spear. 

We  stopped  at  various  stations,  and  descended 
and  walked  about  in  the  gathering  shadows  of  the 
forest.  It  was  getting  cool.  Many  little  things 
attracted  our  attention,  to  remain  In  our  memories 
as  isolated  pictures.  Thus  I  remember  one  grave 
savage  squatted  by  the  track  playing  on  a  sort  of 
mandolin-shaped  Instrument.  It  had  two  strings, 
and  he  twanged  these  alternately,  without  the 
slightest  effort  to  change  their  pitch  by  stopping  with 
his  fingers.  He  bent  his  head  sidewlse,  and  listened 
with  the  meticulous  attention  of  a  connoisseur. 
We  stopped  at  that  place  for  fully  ten  minutes,  but 
not  for  a  second  did  he  leave  off  twanging  his  two 
strings,  nor  did  he  even  momentarily  relax  his  at- 
tention. 

It  was  now  near  sundown.  We  had  been  climbing 
steadily.  The  train  shrieked  twice,  and  unexpect- 
edly slid  out  to  the  edge  of  the  LIkipia  Escarpment. 
We  looked  down  once  more  into  the  great  Rift  Valley. 

257 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

The  Rift  Valley  is  as  though  a  strip  of  Africa  — 
extending  half  the  length  of  the  continent  —  had  in 
time  past  sunk  bodily  some  thousands  of  feet,  leaving 
a  more  or  less  sheer  escarpment  on  either  side,  and 
preserving  intact  its  own  variegated  landscape  in 
the  bottom.  We  were  on  the  Likipia  Escarpment. 
We  looked  across  to  the  Mau  Escarpment,  where 
the  country  over  which  our  train  had  been  travelling 
continued  after  its  interruption  by  the  valley.  And 
below  us  were  mountains,  streams,  plains.  The 
westering  sun  threw  strong  slants  of  light  down  and 
across. 

The  engine  shut  off  its  power,  and  we  slid  silently 
down  the  rather  complicated  grades  and  curves  of 
the  descent.  A  noble  forest  threw  its  shadows 
over  us.  Through  the  chance  openings  we  caught 
glimpses  of  the  pale  country  far  below.  Across 
high  trestle  bridges  we  rattled,  and  craned  over  to 
see  the  rushing  white  water  of  the  mountain  torrents 
a  hundred  feet  down.  The  shriek  of  our  engine 
echoed  and  reechoed  weirdly  from  the  serried  trunks 
of  trees  and  from  the  great  cliffs  that  seemed  to  lift 
themselves  as  we  descended. 

We  debarked  at  Kijabe*  well  after  dark.  It  is 
situated  on  a  ledge  in  the  escarpment,  is  perhaps  a 
quarter  mile  wide,  and  includes  nothing  more  elabo- 

*Pronounce  all  the  syllables. 

258 


OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

rate  than  the  station,  a  row  of  Indian  dukkas,  and  two 
houses  of  South  Africans  set  back  toward  the  rise  in 
the  cliffs.  A  mile  or  so  away,  and  on  a  little  higher 
level,  stand  the  extensive  buildings  of  an  American 
Mission.  It  is,  I  believe  educational  as  well  as 
sectarian,  is  situated  in  one  of  the  most  healthful 
climates  of  East  Africa,  and  is  prosperous. 

At  the  moment  we  saw  none  of  these  things.  We 
were  too  busy  getting  men,  mules,  and  equipment, 
out  of  the  train.  Our  lanterns  flared  in  the  great 
wind  that  swept  down  the  defile;  and  across  the  track 
little  fires  flared  too.  Shortly  we  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Ulyate,  the  South  Africander  who 
furnished  us  our  ox  teams  and  wagon;  and  of  a  lank, 
drawling  youth  who  was  to  be  our  "rider."  The 
latter  was  very  anxious  to  get  started,  so  we  piled 
aboard  the  great  wagon  all  our  stores  and  equipment 
but  those  immediately  necessary  for  the  night. 
Then  we  returned  to  the  dak-bungalow  for  a  very 
belated  supper.  While  eating  this  we  discussed  our 
plans. 

These  were  in  essence  very  simple.  Somewhere 
south  of  the  great  Thirst  of  the  Sotik  was  a  river 
called  the  Narossara.  Back  of  the  river  were  high 
mountains,  and  down  the  river  were  benches  drop- 
ping off  by  thousands  of  feet  to  the  barren  country 
of  Lake  Maghadi.     Over  some  of  this  country  ranged 

259 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  greater  kudu,  easily  the  prize  buck  of  East 
Africa.     We  intended  to  try  for  a  greater  kudu. 

People  laughed  at  us.  The  beast  is  extremely 
rare;  it  ranges  over  a  wide  area;  it  inhabits  the  thick- 
est sort  of  cover  in  a  sheer  mountainous  country;  its 
senses  are  wonderfully  acute;  and  it  is  very  wary.  A 
man  might,  once  in  a  blue  moon,  get  one  by  happen- 
ing upon  it  accidentally;  but  deliberately  to  go  after 
it  was  sheer  lunacy.  So  we  were  told.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  we  thought  so  ourselves,  but  greater  kudu 
was  as  good  an  excuse  as  another. 

The  most  immediate  of  our  physical  difficulties 
was  the  Thirst.  Six  miles  from  Kijabe  we  would 
leave  the  Kedong  River.  After  that  was  no  more 
water  for  two  days  and  nights.  During  that  time 
we  should  be  forced  to  travel  and  rest  in  alternation 
day  and  night;  with  a  great  deal  of  travel  and  very 
little  rest.  We  should  be  able  to  carry  for  the  men 
a  limited  amount  of  water  on  the  ox  wagon;  but  the 
cattle  could  not  drink.  It  was  a  hard,  anxious 
grind.  A  day's  journey  beyond  the  first  water  after 
the  Thirst  we  should  cross  the  Southern  Guaso 
Nyero  River.*  Then  two  days  should  land  us  at 
the  Narossara.  There  we  must  leave  our  ox  wagon 
and  push  on  with  our  tiny  safari.  We  planned  to 
relay  back  for  patio  from  our  different  camps. 

*An  entirely  different  stream  from  that  flowing  north  of  Mt.  Kenia. 

260 


OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

That  was  our  whole  plan.  Our  transport  rider's 
object  In  starting  this  night  was  to  reach  the  Kedong 
River,  and  there  to  outspan  until  our  arrival  next 
day.  The  cattle  would  thus  get  a  good  feed  and 
rest.  Then  at  four  in  the  afternoon  we  would  set 
out  to  conquer  the  Thirst.  After  that  it  would  be  a 
question  of  travelling  to  suit  the  oxen. 

Next  morning,  when  we  arose,  we  found  one  of 
the  wagon  Kikuyus  awaiting  us.  His  tale  ran  that 
after  going  four  miles,  the  oxen  had  been  stampeded 
by  lions.  In  the  mix-up  the  dusselboom  had  been 
broken.  He  demanded  a  new  dusselboom.  I 
looked  as  wise  as  though  I  knew  just  what  that 
meant;  and  told  him,  largely,  to  help  himself. 
Shortly  he  departed  carrying  what  looked  to  be  the 
greater  part  of  a  forest  tree. 

We  were  in  no  hurry,  so  we  did  not  try  to  get  our 
safari  under  way  before  eight  o'clock.  It  consisted 
of  twenty  nine  porters,  the  gunbearers,  three  personal 
boys,  three  syces,  and  the  cook.  Of  this  lot  some 
few  stand  out  from  the  rest,  and  deserve  particular 
attention. 

Of  course  I  had  my  veterans,  Memba  Sasa  and 
Mohamet.  There  was  also  KongonI,  gunbearer, 
elsewhere  described.  The  third  gunbearer  was 
Mavrouki,  a  Wakamba.  He  was  the  personal  gun- 
bearer of  a  Mr.  Twigg,  who  very  courteously  loaned 

261 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

him  for  this  trip  as  possessing  some  knowledge  of  the 
country.  He  was  a  small  person,  with  stripes 
about  his  eyes;  dressed  in  a  Scotch  highland  cap, 
khaki  breeches,  and  a  shooting  coat  miles  too  big  for 
him.  His  soul  was  earnest,  his  courage  great,  his 
training  good,  his  intelligence  none  too  brilliant. 
Timothy,  our  cook,  was  pure  Swahili.  He  was  a  thin, 
elderly  individual,  with  a  wrinkled  brow  of  care. 
This  represented  a  conscientious  soul.  He  tried  hard 
to  please,  but  he  never  could  quite  forget  that  he  had 
cooked  for  the  Governor's  safari.  His  air  was  always 
one  of  silent  disapproval  of  our  modest  outfit.  So 
well  did  he  do,  however,  often  under  trying  circum- 
stances, that  at  the  close  of  the  expedition  Billy 
presented  him  with  a  very  fancy  knife.  To  her  vast 
astonishment  he  burst  into  violent  sobs. 
"Why,  what  is  it?"  she  asked. 
"Oh,  memsahib,"  he  wailed,  "I  wanted  a  watch!" 
As  personal  boy  Billy  had  a  Masai  named  Leyeye.* 
The  members  of  this  proud  and  aristocratic  tribe 
rarely  condescend  to  work  for  the  white  man;  but 
when  they  do,  they  are  very  fine  servants,  for  they 
are  highly  intelligent.  Leyeye  was  short  and  very, 
very  ugly.  Perhaps  this  may  partly  explain  his 
leaving  tribal  life;  for  the  Masai  generally  are  over 
six  feet. 

*Pionounce  every  syllable. 

262 


o 

ri 


O 


o 

C/3 


60 

.3 


u 


OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

Cuninghame's  man  was  an  educated  coast  Swahili 
named  Abba  Ali.  This  individual  was  very  smart. 
He  wore  a  neatly  trimmed  Vandyke  beard,  a  flannel 
boating  hat,  smart  tailored  khakis,  and  carried  a  rat- 
tan cane.  He  was  alert,  quick,  and  intelligent.  His 
position  was  midway  between  that  of  personal  boy 
and  headman. 

Of  the  rank  and  file  we  began  with  twenty-nine. 
Two  changed  their  minds  before  we  were  fairly 
started  and  departed  in  the  night.  There  was  no 
time  to  get  regular  porters;  but  fortunately  a  Kikuyu 
chief  detailed  two  wild  savages  from  his  tribe  to  act 
as  carriers.  These  two  children  of  nature  drifted  in 
with  pleasant  smiles,  and  little  else  save  knick- 
knacks.  From  our  supplies  we  gave  them  two  thin 
jerseys,  reaching  nearly  to  the  knees.  Next  day  they 
appeared  with  broad  tucks  sewed  around  the  middle! 
They  looked  like  "My  mama  didn't  use  wool  soap." 
We  then  gave  it  up,  and  left  them  free  and  untram- 
melled. 

They  differed  radically.  One  was  past  the  first 
enthusiasms  and  vanities  of  youth.  He  was  small, 
unobtrusive,  unornamented.  He  had  no  possessions 
save  the  jersey,  the  water  bottle  and  the  blanket  we 
ourselves  supplied.  The  blanket  he  crossed  bando- 
lier fashion  on  one  shoulder.  It  hung  down  behind 
like  a  tasselled  sash.     His  face  was  little  and  wizened 

263 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

and  old.  He  was  quiet  and  uncomplaining,  and  the 
"easy  mark"  for  all  the  rest.  We  had  constantly 
to  be  interfering  to  save  him  from  imposition  as  to 
too  heavy  loads,  too  many  chores  and  the  like. 
Nearing  the  close  of  the  long  expedition,  when  our 
loads  were  lighter  and  fewer,  one  day  Cuninghame 
spoke  up. 

"I'm  going  to  give  the  old  man  a  good  time,"  said 
he,  "I  doubt  if  he's  ever  had  one  before,  or  if  he  ever 
will  again.     He's  that  sort  of  a  meek  damn  fool." 

So  it  was  decreed  that  Kimau*  should  carry 
nothing  for  the  rest  of  the  trip,  was  to  do  no  more 
work,  was  to  have  all  he  wanted  to  eat.  It  was 
a  treat  to  see  him.  He  accepted  these  things  without 
surprise,  without  spoken  thanks;  just  as  he  would 
have  accepted  an  increased  supply  of  work  and  kicks. 
Before  his  little  fire  he  squatted  all  day,  gazing 
vacantly  off  into  space,  or  gnawing  on  a  piece  of  the 
meat  he  always  kept  roasting  on  sticks.  He  spoke 
to  no  one;  he  never  smiled  or  displayed  any  obvious 
signs  of  enjoyment;  but  from  him  radiated  a  feeling 
of  deep  content. 

His  companion  savage  was  a  young  blood,  and 
still  affected  by  the  vanities  of  life.  His  hair  he 
wore  in  short  tight  curls,  resembling  the  rope  hair  of 

*His  official  name  was  Lightfoot  Queen  of  the  Fairies  because  of  his  ballet- 
like costume. 

264 


OVER  THE  LIKIPIA  ESCARPMENT 

a  French  poodle,  liberally  anointed  with  castor-oil 
and  coloured  with  red-paint  clay.  His  body  too 
was  turned  to  bronze  by  the  same  method;  so  that 
he  looked  like  a  beautiful  smooth  metal  statue  come 
to  life.  To  set  this  quality  off  he  wore  glittering 
collars,  bracelets,  anklets,  and  ear  ornaments  of 
polished  copper  and  brass.  When  he  joined  us  his 
sole  costume  was  a  negligent  two-foot  strip  of  cotton 
cloth.  After  he  had  received  his  official  jersey,  he 
carefully  tied  the  cloth  over  his  wonderful  head;  nor 
as  far  as  we  knew  did  he  again  remove  it  until  the  end 
of  the  expedition.  All  his  movements  were  inexpres- 
sibly graceful.  They  reminded  one  somehow  of 
Flaxman's  drawings  of  the  Greek  gods.  His  face, 
too,  was  good-natured  and  likable.  A  certain  half 
feminine,  wild  grace,  combined  with  the  queer  effect 
of  his  headgear,  caused  us  to  name  him  Daphne.  At 
home  he  was  called  Kingangui. 

At  first  he  carried  his  burden  after  the  fashion  of 
savages  —  on  the  back;  and  kept  to  the  rear  of  the 
procession;  and  at  evening  consorted  only  with  old 
Lightfoot.  As  soon  as  opportunity  offered  he  built 
himself  a  marvellous  iridescent  ball  of  marabout 
feathers.  Each  of  these  he  split  along  the  quill,  so 
that  they  curled  and  writhed  in  the  wind.  This  pictu- 
resque charm  he  suspended  from  a  short  pole  in  front 
of  his  tent.     Also,  since  he  belonged  to  the  Kikuyu 

265 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

tribe,  he  ate  no  game  meat;  but  confined  his  diet 
to  cornmeal  potio.  We  were  much  interested  in 
watching  Daphne's  gradual  conversion  from  savage 
ways  to  those  of  the  regular  porter.  Within  two 
weeks  he  was  carrying  his  load  on  his  head  or 
shoulder,  and  trying  to  keep  up  near  the  head  of  the 
safari.  The  charm  of  feathers  disappeared  shortly 
after,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  He  took  his  share  of  the 
meat.  Within  two  months  Daphne  was  imitating 
as  closely  as  possible  the  manners  and  customs  of  his 
safari  mates.  But  he  never  really  succeeded  in  look- 
ing anything  but  the  wild  and  graceful  savage  he  was. 


266 


XXXIV 
TO  THE  KEDONG 

FIR  four  hours  we  descended  the  valley  through 
high  thorn  scrub,  or  the  occasional  grassy 
openings.  We  were  now  in  the  floor  of  the  Rift 
Valley,  and  both  along  the  escarpments  and  in  the 
floor  of  the  great  blue  valley  itself  mountains  were 
all  about  us.  Most  of  the  large  ones  were  evidently 
craters;  and  everywhere  were  smaller  kopjes  or 
buttes,  that  in  their  day  had  also  served  as  blow 
holes  for  subterranean  fires. 

At  the  end  of  this  time  we  arrived  at  the  place 
where  we  were  supposed  to  find  the  wagon.  No 
wagon  was  there. 

The  spot  was  in  the  middle  of  a  level  plain  on 
which  grew  very  scattered  bushes,  a  great  deal  like 
the  sparser  mesquite  growths  of  Arizona.  Toward 
the  Likipia  Escarpment,  and  about  halfway  to  its 
base,  a  line  of  trees  marked  the  course  of  the  Kedong 
River.  Beyond  that,  fairly  against  the  mountain, 
we  made  out  a  settler's  house. 

Leaving  Billy  and  the  safari,  Cuninghame  and  I  set 
267 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

out  for  this  house.  The  distance  was  long,  and  we 
had  not  made  half  of  it  before  thunder  clouds  began 
to  gather.  They  came  up  thick  and  black  behind  the 
escarpment,  and  rapidly  spread  over  the  entire  heav- 
ens. We  found  the  wagon  shortly,  still  mending  its 
dusselboom,  or  whatever  the  thing  was.  Leaving 
instructions  for  it  to  proceed  to  a  certain  point  on 
the  Kedong  River,  we  started  back  for  our  safari. 

It  rained.  In  ten  minutes  the  dusty  plains,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  were  covered  with  water 
two  or  three  inches  deep,  from  which  the  sparse 
bunches  of  grasses  grew  like  reeds  in  a  great  marshy 
lake.  We  splashed  along  with  the  water  over  our 
ankles.  The  channels  made  by  the  game  trails 
offered  natural  conduits,  and  wherever  there  was 
the  least  grade  they  had  become  rushing  brooks. 
We  found  the  safari  very  bedraggled.  Billy  had 
made  a  mound  of  valuables  atop  which  she  perched, 
her  waterproof  cape  spread  as  wide  as  possible,  a 
good  deal  like  a  brooding  hen.  We  set  out  for  the 
meeting  point  on  the  Kedong.  In  half  an  hour 
we  had  there  found  a  bit  of  higher  ground  and  had 
made  camp. 

As  suddenly  as  they  had  gathered  the  storm  clouds 
broke  away.  The  expiring  sun  sent  across  the 
valley  a  flood  of  golden  light,  that  gilded  the  rugged 
old  mountain  of  Suswa  over  the  way. 

268 


TO  THE  KEDONG 

"Directly  on  the  other  side  of  Suswa,"  Cun- 
inghame  told  me,  "there  is  a  'pan'  of  hard  clay. 
This  rain  will  fill  it;  and  we  shall  find  water  there. 
We  can  take  a  night's  rest,  and  set  off"  comfortably 
in  the  morning." 

So  the  rain  that  had  soaked  us  so  thoroughly  was 
a  blessing  after  all.  While  we  were  cooking  supper 
the  wagon  passed  us,  its  wheels  and  frame  creaking, 
its  great  whip  cracking  like  a  rifle,  its  men  shrieking 
at  the  imperturbable  team  of  eighteen  oxen.  It 
would  travel  until  the  oxen  wanted  to  graze,  or 
sleep,  or  scratch  an  ear,  or  meditate  on  why  is  a 
Kikuyu.  Thereupon  they  would  be  outspanned  and 
allowed  to  do  it,  whatever  it  was,  until  they  were 
ready  to  go  on  again.  Then  they  would  go  on. 
These  sequences  might  take  place  at  any  time  of 
the  day  or  night,  and  for  greater  or  lesser  intervals 
of  time.  That  was  distinctly  up  to  the  oxen;  the 
human  beings  had  mighty  little  to  say  in  the  matter. 
But  transport  riding,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
rank  outsider,  really  deserves  a  chapter  of  its  own. 


269 


XXXV 

THE  TRANSPORT  RIDER 

THE  wagon  is  one  evolved  in  South  Africa,  a 
long,  heavily  constructed  affair,  with  ingen- 
ious braces  and  timbers  so  arranged  as  to  furnish 
the  maximum  clearance  with  the  greatest  facility 
for  substitution  in  case  the  necessity  for  repairs 
might  arise.  The  whole  vehicle  can  be  dismounted 
and  reassembled  in  a  few  hours;  so  that  unfordable 
streams  or  impossible  bits  of  country  can  be  crossed 
piecemeal.  Its  enormous  wheels  are  set  wide  apart. 
The  brake  is  worked  by  a  crank  at  the  rear;  like  a 
reversal  of  the  starting  mechanism  of  a  motor  car. 
Bolted  to  the  frame  on  either  side  between  the  front 
and  rear  wheels  are  capacious  cupboards,  and  two 
stout  water  kegs  swing  to  and  fro  when  the  craft 
is  under  way.  The  net  carrying  capacity  of  such  a 
wagon  is  from  three  to  four  thousand  pounds. 

This  formidable  vehicle  in  our  own  case  was 
drawn  by  a  team  of  eighteen  oxen.  The  biggest 
brutes,  the  wheelers,  were  attached  to  a  tongue; 
all  the  others  pulled  on  a  long  chain.     The  only 

270 


THE  TRANSPORT  RIDER 

harness  was  the  pronged  yoke  that  fitted  just  for- 
ward of  the  hump.  Over  rough  country  the  wheelers 
were  banged  and  jerked  about  savagely  by  the 
tongue;  they  did  not  seem  to  mind  it,  but  exhibited 
a  certain  amount  of  intelligence  in  manipulation. 

To  drive  these  oxen  we  had  one  white  man,  named 
Brown,  and  two  small  Kikuyu  savages.  One  of 
these  worked  the  brake  crank  in  the  rear;  while  the 
other  preceded  the  lead  cattle.  Brown  exercised 
general  supervision,  a  long  lashed  whip,  and  Boer- 
Dutch  expletives  and  admonitions. 

In  transport  riding,  as  this  game  is  called,  there 
is  required  a  great  amount  of  especial  skill,  though 
not  necessarily  a  high  degree  of  intelligence.  Along 
the  flats  all  goes  well  enough;  but  once  in  the  un- 
believable rough  country  of  a  hill  trek  the  situation 
alters.  A  man  must  know  cattle  and  their  symp- 
toms. It  is  no  light  feat  to  wake  up  eighteen 
sluggish  bovine  minds  to  the  necessity  for  effort,  and 
then  to  throw  so  much  dynamic  energy  into  the 
situation  that  the  whole  eighteen  will  begin  to  pull 
at  once.  That  is  the  secret;  unanimity.  An  ox  is 
the  most  easily  discouraged  working  animal  on  earth. 
If  the  first  three  couples  begin  to  haul  before  the 
others  have  aroused  to  their  effort,  they  will  not 
succeed  in  budging  the  wagon  an  inch,  but  after  a 
moment's  struggle  will  give  up  completely.    By  that 

271 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

time  the  leaders  respond  to  the  command  and  throw 
themselves  forward  in  the  yoke.  In  vain.  They 
cannot  pull  the  wagon  and  their  wheel  comrades  too. 
Therefore  they  give  up.  By  this  time,  perhaps,  the 
lash  has  aroused  the  first  lot  to  another  effort.  And 
so  they  go,  pulling  and  hauling  against  each  other, 
getting  nowhere,  until  the  end  is  an  exhausted  team, 
a  driver  half  insane,  and  a  great  necessity  for  un- 
loading. 

A  good  driver  on  the  other  hand,  shrieks  a  few 
premonitory  Dutch  words  —  and  then!  I  suppose 
inside  those  bovine  heads  the  effect  is  somewhat  that 
of  a  violent  electric  explosion.  At  any  rate  it  hits 
them  all  at  once;  and  all  together,  in  response,  they 
surge  against  their  yokes.  The  heavily  laden  wagon 
creaks,  groans,  moves  forward.  The  hurricane  of 
Dutch  and  the  volleys  of  whip  crackings  rise  to  a 
crescendo.     We  are  off! 

To  perform  just  this  little  simple  trick  of  getting 
the  thing  started  requires  not  only  a  peculiar  skill 
or  gift,  but  also  lungs  of  brass  and  a  throat  of  iron. 
A  transport  rider  without  a  voice  is  as  a  tenor  in 
the  same  fix.  He  may  —  and  does  —  get  so  hoarse 
that  it  is  a  pain  to  hear  him;  but  as  long  as  he  can 
croak  in  good  volume  he  is  all  right.  Mere  shouting 
will  not  do.  He  must  shriek,  until  to  the  sym- 
pathetic bystander  it  seems  that  his  throat  must 

272 


THE  TRANSPORT  RIDER 

split  wide  open.  Furthermore,  he  must  shriek  the 
proper  things.  It  all  sounds  alike  to  every  one  but 
transport  riders  and  oxen;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
it  is  Boer-Dutch,  nicely  assorted  to  suit  different 
occasions.  It  is  incredible  that  oxen  should  dis- 
tinguish; but,  then,  it  is  also  incredible  that  trout 
should  distinguish  the  nice  differences  in  artificial 
flies. 

After  the  start  has  been  made  successfully,  the 
craft  must  be  kept  under  way.  To  an  unbiased  by- 
stander the  whole  affair  looks  insane.  The  wagon 
creaks  and  sways  and  groans  and  cries  aloud  as  it 
bumps  over  great  boulders  in  the  way;  the  leading 
Kikuyu  dances  nimbly  and  shrills  remarks  at  the 
nearest  cattle;  the  tail  Kikuyu  winds  energetically 
back  and  forth  on  his  little  handle,  and  tries  to  keep 
his  feet.  And  Brown!  he  is  magnificent!  His  long 
lash  sends  out  a  volley  of  rifle  reports,  down,  up, 
ahead,  back;  his  cracked  voice  roars  out  an  unending 
stream  of  apparent  gibberish.  Back  and  forth  along 
the  line  of  the  team  he  skips  nimbly,  the  sweat  stream- 
ing from  his  face.  And  the  oxen  plod  along,  unhast- 
ing,  unexcited,  their  eyes  dreamy,  chewing  the  end 
of  yesterday's  philosophic  reflection.  The  situation 
conveys  the  general  impression  of  a  peevish  little 
stream  breaking  against  great  calm  cliffs.  All  this 
frantic  excitement  and  expenditure  of  energy  is  so 

273 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

apparently  purposeless  and  futile,  the  calm  cattle 
seem  so  aloof  and  superior  to  it  all,  so  absolutely 
unaffected  by  it.  They  are  going  slowly,  to  be  sure, 
their  gait  may  be  maddeningly  deliberate,  but  evi- 
dently they  do  not  intend  to  be  hurried.  Why  not 
let  them  take  their  own  speed? 

But  all  this  hullabaloo  means  something,  after  all. 
It  does  its  business,  and  the  top  of  the  boulder- 
strewn  hill  is  gained.  Without  it  the  whole  concern 
would  have  stopped;  and  then  the  wagon  would  have 
had  to  be  unloaded  before  a  fresh  start  could  have 
been  made.  Results  with  cattle  are  not  shown  by 
facial  expression  nor  by  increased  speed,  but  simply 
by  continuance.  They  will  plod  up  steep  hills  or 
along  the  level  at  the  same  placid  gait.  Only  in 
the  former  case  they  require  especial  treatment. 

In  case  the  wagon  gets  stuck  on  a  hill,  as  will 
occasionally  happen,  so  that  all  the  oxen  are  dis- 
couraged at  once,  we  would  see  one  of  the  Kikuyus 
leading  the  team  back  and  forth,  back  and  forth, 
on  the  side  hill  just  ahead  of  the  wagon.  This  is 
to  confuse  their  minds,  cause  them  to  forget  their 
failure,  and  thus  to  make  another  attempt. 

At  one  stretch  we  had  three  days  of  real  moun- 
tains. N'gombe*  Brown  shrieked  like  a  steam  cal- 
liope all  the  way  through.     He  lasted  the  distance, 

*  N'gombe — oxen. 


THE  TRANSPORT  RIDER 

but  had  little  campfire  conversation  even  with  his 
beloved  Kikuyus. 

When  the  team  was  outspanned,  which  in  the  water- 
less country  of  forced  marches  is  likely  to  be  almost 
any  time  of  the  day  or  night,  N'gombe  Brown  sought 
a  little  rest.  For  this  purpose  he  had  a  sort  of  bunk 
that  let  down  underneath  the  wagon.  If  it  was 
daytime,  the  cattle  were  allowed  to  graze  under 
supervision  of  one  of  the  Kikuyus.  If  it  was  night 
time  they  were  tethered  to  the  long  chain,  where  they 
lay  In  a  somnolent  double  row.  A  lantern  at  the  head 
of  the  file  and  one  at  the  wagon's  tail  were  supposed 
to  discourage  lions.  In  a  bad  lion  country  fires 
were  added  to  these  defences. 

N'gombe  Brown  thus  worked  hard  all  of  varied 
and  long  hours  in  strict  intimacy  with  stupid  and 
exasperating  beasts.  After  working  hours  he  liked 
to  wander  out  to  watch  those  same  beasts  grazing! 
His  mind  was  as  full  of  cattle  as  that!  Although  we 
offered  him  reading  matter,  he  never  seemed  to  care 
for  it,  nor  for  long-continued  conversation  with 
white  people  not  of  his  trade.  In  fact  the  only 
gleam  of  interest  I  could  get  out  of  him  was  by 
commenting  on  the  qualities  or  peculiarities  of  the 
oxen.  He  had  a  small  mouth  organ  on  which  he 
occasionally  performed,  and  would  hold  forth  for 
hours  with  his  childlike  Kikuyus.     In  the  intelli- 

275 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

gence  to  follow  ordinary  directions  he  was  an  infant. 
We  had  to  iterate  and  reiterate  in  words  of  one 
syllable  our  directions  as  to  routes  and  meeting 
points,  and  then  he  was  quite  as  apt  to  go  wrong  as 
right.  Yet,  I  must  repeat,  he  knew  thoroughly  all 
the  ins  and  outs  of  a  very  difficult  trade,  and  under- 
stood, as  well,  how  to  keep  his  cattle  always  fit  and 
in  good  condition.  In  fact  he  was  a  little  hipped 
on  what  the  "dear  rCgombes^^  should  or  should  not 
be  called  upon  to  do. 

One  incident  will  illustrate  all  this  better  than  I 
could  explain  it.  When  we  reached  the  Narossara 
River  we  left  the  wagon  and  pushed  on  afoot.  We 
were  to  be  gone  an  indefinite  time;  and  we  left 
N'gombe  Brown  and  his  outfit  very  well  fixed. 
Along  the  Narossara  ran  a  pleasant  shady  strip  of 
high  jungle;  the  country  about  was  clear  and  open; 
but  most  important  of  all,  a  white  man  of  education 
and  personal  charm  occupied  a  trading  boma,  or 
enclosure,  near  at  hand.  An  accident  changed  our 
plans  and  brought  us  back  unexpectedly  at  the  end 
of  a  few  weeks.  We  found  that  N'gombe  Brown 
had  trekked  back  a  long  day's  journey,  and  was 
encamped  alone  at  the  end  of  a  spur  of  mountains. 
We  sent  native  runners  after  him.  He  explained 
his  change  of  base  by  saying  that  the  cattle  feed  was 
a  little  better  at  his  new  camp!     Mind  you  this;  at 

276 


THE  TRANSPORT  RIDER 

the  Narossara  the  feed  was  plenty  good  enough,  the 
oxen  were  doing  no  work,  there  was  companionship, 
books,  papers,  and  even  a  phonograph  to  while  away 
the  long  weeks  until  our  return.  N'gombe  Brown 
quite  cheerfully  deserted  all  this,  to  live  in  solitude 
where  he  imagined  the  feed  to  be  microscopically 
better! 


277 


XXXVI 
ACROSS  THE  THIRST 

WE  were  off  a  bright,  clear  day  after  the  rains. 
Suswa  hung  grayish  pink  against  the  bluest 
of  skies.  Our  way  slanted  across  the  Rift  Valley 
to  her  base;  turned  the  corner,  and  continued  on 
the  other  side  of  the  great  peak  until  we  had  reached 
the  rainwater  "pan"  on  her  farther  side.  It  was  a 
long  march. 

The  plains  were  very  wide  and  roomy.  Here  and 
there  on  them  rose  many  small  cones  and  craters, 
lava  flows  and  other  varied  evidences  of  recent 
volcanic  activity.  Geologically  recent,  I  mean. 
The  grasses  of  the  flowing  plains  were  very  brown, 
and  the  molehill  craters  very  dark;  the  larger  craters 
blasted  and  austere;  the  higher  escarpment  in  the 
background  blue  with  a  solemn  distance.  The  sizes 
of  things  were  not  originally  fitted  out  for  little 
tiny  people  like  human  beings.  We  walked  hours 
to  reach  landmarks  apparently  only  a  few  miles 
away. 

In  this  manner  we  plodded  along  industriously  un- 

278 


ACROSS  THE  THIRST 

til  noon,  by  which  time  we  had  nearly  reached  the 
shoulder  of  Suswa,  around  which  we  had  to  double. 
The  sun  was  strong,  and  the  men  not  yet  hardened 
to  the  work.  We  had  many  stragglers.  After  lunch 
Memba  Sasa  and  I  strolled  along  on  a  route  flanking 
that  of  the  safari  looking  for  the  first  of  our  meat 
supply.  Within  a  short  time  I  had  killed  a  Thomp- 
son's gazelle.  Some  solemn  giraffes  looked  on  at 
the  performance,  and  then  moved  off  liked  mechan- 
ical toys. 

The  day  lengthened.  We  were  in  the  midst  of 
wonderful  scenery.  Our  objection  grew  to  be  that 
it  took  so  long  to  put  any  of  it  behind  us.  Insensi- 
bly, however,  we  made  progress.  Suddenly,  as  it 
seemed,  we  found  ourselves  looking  at  the  other 
side  of  Suswa,  and  various  brand-new  little  craters 
had  moved  up  to  take  the  places  of  our  old  friends. 
At  last,  about  half-past  four,  we  topped  the  swell 
of  one  of  the  numerous  and  interminable  land 
billows  that  undulate  across  all  plains  countries  here, 
and  saw,  a  few  miles  away,  the  wagon  outspanned. 
We  reached  it  about  sunset,  to  be  greeted  by  the 
welcome  news  that  there  was  indeed  water  in  the 
pan. 

We  unsaddled  just  before  dark,  and  I  immediately 
started  toward  the  game  herds,  many  of  which  were 
grazing  a  half  mile  away.     The  gazelle  would  supply 

279 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

our  own  larder,  but  meat  for  hard-worked  men  was 
very  desirable.  I  shot  a  hartebeeste,  made  the 
prearranged  signal  for  men  to  carry  meat,  and  re- 
turned to  camp. 

Even  yet  the  men  were  not  all  in.  We  took  lan- 
terns and  returned  along  the  road;  for  the  long 
marches  under  a  desert  sun  are  no  joke.  At  last 
we  had  accounted  for  all  but  two.  These  we  had 
to  abandon.  Next  day  we  found  their  loads,  but 
never  laid  eyes  on  them  again.  Thus  early  our 
twenty-nine  became  twenty-seven. 

About  nine  o'clock,  about  as  we  were  turning,  in  a 
number  of  lions  began  to  roar.  Usually  a  lion  roars 
once  or  twice  by  way  of  satisfaction  after  leaving 
a  kill.  These,  however,  were  engaged  in  driving 
game,  and  hence  trying  to  make  as  much  noise  as 
possible.  We  distinguished  plainly  seven  individuals, 
perhaps  more.  The  air  trembled  with  the  sound  as 
to  the  deepest  tones  of  a  big  organ,  only  the  organ 
is  near  and  enclosed,  while  these  vibrations  were 
in  the  open  air  and  remote.  For  a  few  moments 
the  great  salvos  would  boom  across  the  veldt,  roll 
after  roll  of  thunder;  then  would  ensue  a  momentary 
dead  silence;  then  a  single  voice  would  open,  to  be 
joined  immediately  by  the  others. 

We  awoke  next  day  to  an  unexpected  cold  drizzle. 
This  was  a  bit  uncomfortable,  from  one  point  of 

280 


3 

s 


'B 

c 

G 
2 


'  From  it  we  looked  down  into  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
Southern  Guaso  Nyero" 


ACROSS  THE  THIRST 

view,  and  most  unusual,  but  it  robbed  the  Thirst  of 
its  terrors.  We  were  enabled  to  proceed  leisurely, 
and  to  get  a  good  sleep  near  water  every  night. 
The  wagon  had,  as  usual,  pulled  out  some  time  dur- 
ing the  night. 

Our  way  led  over  a  succession  of  low  rolling 
ridges  each  higher  that  its  predecessor.  Game  herds 
fed  in  the  shallow  valleys  between.  At  about  ten 
o'clock  we  came  to  the  foot  of  the  Mau  Escarpment; 
and  also  to  the  unexpected  sight  of  the  wagon 
outspanned.  N'gombe  Brown  explained  to  us  that 
the  oxen  had  refused  to  proceed  farther  in  face  of 
a  number  of  lions  that  came  around  to  sniff  at  them. 
Then  the  rain  had  come  on,  and  he  had  been  un- 
willing to  attempt  the  Mau  while  the  footing  was 
slippery.  This  sounded  reasonable;  in  fact  it  was 
still  reasonable.  The  grass  was  here  fairly  neck 
high,  and  we  found  a  rain-filled  water  hole.  There- 
fore we  decided  to  make  camp.  Cuninghame  and  I 
wandered  out  in  search  of  game.  We  tramped  a  great 
deal  of  bold,  rugged  country,  both  in  cafion  bottoms 
and  along  the  open  ridges,  but  found  only  a  rhinoce- 
ros, one  bush  buck  and  a  dozen  hartebeeste.  African 
game,  as  a  general  rule,  avoids  a  country  where  the 
grass  grows  very  high.  We  enjoyed,  however,  some 
bold  and  wonderful  mountain  scenery;  and  obtained 
glimpses  through  the  flying  murk  of  the  vast  plains 

281 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

at  the  base  of  Suswa.  On  a  precipitous  canon 
cliff  we  found  a  hanging  garden  of  cactus  and  of 
looped  cactuslike  vines  that  was  a  marvel  to  behold. 
We  ran  across  the  hartebeeste  on  our  way  home. 
Our  men  were  already  out  of  meat:  the  hartebeeste 
of  yesterday  had  disappeared.  These  porters  are 
a  good  deal  like  the  old-fashioned  Michigan  lumber- 
jacks —  they  take  a  good  deal  of  feeding  for  the 
first  few  days.  When  we  came  upon  the  little  herd 
in  the  neck-high  grass,  I  took  a  shot.  At  the  report 
the  animal  went  down  flat.  We  wandered  over 
slowly.  Memba  Sasa  whetted  his  knife  and  walked 
up.  Thereupon  Mr.  Hartebeeste  jumped  to  his 
feet;  flirted  his  tail  gayly,  and  departed.  We  fol- 
lowed him  a  mile  or  so,  but  he  got  stronger  and 
gayer  every  moment;  until  at  last  he  frisked  out  of 
the  landscape  quite  strong  and  hearty.  In  all  my 
African  experience  I  lost  only  six  animals  hit  by 
bullets,  as  I  took  infinite  pains  and  any  amount  of 
time  to  hunt  down  wounded  beasts.  This  animal 
was,  I  think,  "creased"  by  too  high  a  shot.  Cer- 
tainly he  was  not  much  injured;  and  certainly  he 
got  a  big  shock  to  start  with. 

The  little  herd  had  gone  on.  I  got  down  and 
crawled  on  hands  and  knees  in  the  thick  grass.  It 
was  slow  work;  and  I  had  to  travel  by  landmarks. 
When  I  finally  reckoned  I  had  about  reached  the 

282 


ACROSS  THE  THIRST 

proper  place,  I  stood  up  suddenly,  my  rifle  at  ready. 
So  dense  was  the  cover  and  so  still  the  air  that  I 
had  actually  crawled  right  into  the  middle  of  the 
band!  While  we  were  cutting  up  the  meat  the 
sun  broke  through  strongly. 

Therefore  the  wagon  started  on  up  the  Mau  at 
six  o'clock.  Twelve  hours  later  we  followed.  The 
fine  drizzle  had  set  in  again.  We  were  very  glad 
the  wagon  had  taken  advantage  of  the  brief  dry 
time. 

From  the  top  of  the  sheer  rise  we  looked  back  for 
the  last  time  over  the  wonderful  panorama  of  the 
Rift  Valley.  Before  us  were  wide  rounded  hills 
covered  with  a  scattered  small  growth  that  in  general 
appearance  resembled  scrub  oak.  It  sloped  away 
gently  until  it  was  lost  in  mists.  Later,  when  these 
cleared,  we  saw  distant  blue  mountains  across  a 
tremendous  shallow  basin.  We  were  nearly  on  a 
level  with  the  summit  of  Suswa  itself,  nor  did  we 
again  drop  much  below  that  altitude.  After  five 
or  six  miles  we  overtook  the  wagon  outspanned. 
The  projected  all-night  journey  had  again  been  frus- 
trated by  the  lions.  These  beasts  had  proved  so 
bold  and  menacing  that  finally  the  team  had  been 
forced  to  stop  in  sheer  self-defence.  However,  the 
day  was  cool  and  overcast,  so  nothing  was  lost. 

After  topping  the  Mau  we  saw   a   few  gazelle, 

283 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

zebra,  and  hartebeeste;  but  soon  plunged  into  a 
bush  country  quite  destitute  of  game.  We  were 
paralleling  the  highest  ridge  of  the  escarpment; 
and  so  alternated  between  the  crossing  of  cafions 
and  the  travelling  along  broad  ridges  between  them. 
In  lack  of  other  amusement  for  a  long  time  I  rode 
with  the  wagon.  The  country  was  very  rough  and 
rocky.  Everybody  was  excited  to  the  point  of 
frenzy,  except  the  wagon.  It  had  a  certain  Dutch 
stolidity  in  its  manner  of  calmly  and  bumplly  sur- 
mounting such  portions  of  the  landscape  as  happened 
in  its  way. 

After  a  very  long  tiresome  march  we  camped 
above  a  little  stream.  Barring  our  lucky  rain  this 
would  have  been  the  first  water  since  leaving  the 
Kedong  River.  Here  were  hundreds  of  big  blue 
pigeons  swooping  in  to  their  evening  drink. 

For  two  days  more  we  repeated  this  sort  of  travel; 
but  always  with  good  camps  at  fair-sized  streams. 
Gradually  we  slanted  away  from  the  main  ridge; 
though  we  still  continued  cross-cutting  the  swells 
and  ravines  thrown  off  its  flanks.  Only  the  ravines 
hour  by  hour  became  shallower,  and  the  swells  lower 
and  broader.  On  their  tops  the  scrub  sometimes 
gave  way  to  openings  of  short-grass.  On  these  fed 
a  few  gazelle  of  both  sorts,  and  an  occasional  zebra 
or  so.     We  saw  also  four  topi,  a  beast  about  the 

284 


ACROSS  THE  THIRST 

size  of  our  caribou,  built  on  the  general  specifications 
of  a  hartebeeste,  but  with  the  most  beautiful  iri- 
descent plum-coloured  coats.  This  quartette  was 
very  wild.  I  made  three  separate  stalks  on  them, 
but  the  best  I  could  do  was  360  paces,  at  which 
range  I  missed. 

Finally  we  surmounted  the  last  low  swell  to  look 
down  a  wide  and  sloping  plain  to  the  depression  in 
which  flowed  the  principal  river  of  these  parts,  the 
Southern  Guaso  Nyero.  Beyond  it  stretched  the 
immense  oceanlike  plains  of  the  Loieta,  from  which 
here  and  there  rose  isolated  hills,  very  distant,  like 
lonseome  ships  at  sea.  A  little  to  the  left,  also  very 
distant,  we  could  make  out  an  unbroken  blue  range 
of  mountains.     These  were  our  ultimate  destination. 


28s 


XXXVII 
THE  SOUTHERN  GUASO  NYERO 

THE  southern  Guaso  Nyero,  unlike  its  northern 
namesake,  is  a  sluggish  muddy  stream,  rather 
small,  flowing  between  abrupt  clay  banks.  Farther 
down  it  drops  into  great  caiions  and  eroded  abysses, 
and  acquires  a  certain  grandeur.  But  here,  at  the 
ford  of  Agate's  Drift,  it  is  decidedly  unimpressive. 
Scant  greenery  ornaments  its  banks.  In  fact,  at 
most  places  they  run  hard  and  baked  to  a  sheer 
drop-off  of  ten  or  fifteen  feet.  Scattered  mimosa 
trees  and  aloes  mark  its  course.  The  earth  for  a 
mile  or  so  is  trampled  by  thousands  of  Masai  cattle 
that  at  certain  seasons  pass  through  the  funnel  of 
this,  the  only  ford  for  miles  Apparently  insignificant, 
it  is  given  to  sudden,  tremendous  rises.  These 
originate  in  the  rainfalls  of  the  upper  Mau  Escarp- 
ment, many  miles  away.  It  behooves  the  safari  to 
cross  promptly  if  it  can;  and  to  camp  always  on  the 
farther  bank. 

This  we  did,  pitching  our  tents  in  a  little  opening, 
between  clumps  of  pretty  flowering  aloes  and  the 

286 


THE  SOUTHERN  GUASO  NYERO 

mimosas.  Here,  as  everywhere  In  this  country  until 
we  had  passed  the  barrier  of  the  Narossara  moun- 
tains, the  common  houseflies  were  a  plague.  They 
follow  the  Masai  cattle.  I  can  give  you  no  better 
idea  of  their  numbers  than  to  tell  you  two  isolated 
facts;  I  killed  twenty-one  at  one  blow;  and  in  the 
morning  before  sunrise  the  apex  of  our  tent  held  a 
solid  black  mass  of  the  creatures  running  the  length 
of  the  ridge  pole,  and  from  half  an  inch  to  two 
inches  deep!  Every  pack  was  black  with  them  on 
the  march;  and  the  wagon  carried  its  millions. 
When  the  shadow  of  a  branch  would  cross  that 
slowly  lumbering  vehicle,  the  swarm  would  rise  and 
bumble  around  distractedly  for  a  moment  before 
settling  down  again.  They  fairly  made  a  nimbus 
of  darkness. 

After  we  had  made  camp  we  saw  a  number  of 
Masai  warriors  hovering  about  the  opposite  bank, 
but  they  did  not  venture  across.  Some  of  their 
women  did,  however,  and  came  cheerfully  into  camp. 
These  most  interesting  people  are  worth  more  than 
a  casual  word,  so  I  shall  reserve  my  observations  on 
them  until  a  later  chapter.  One  of  our  porters,  a 
big  Baganda  named  Sabakaki,  was  suffering  severely 
from  pains  in  the  chest  that  subsequently  developed 
into  pleurisy.  From  the  Masai  women  we  tried  to 
buy  some  of  the  milk  they  carried  in  gourds.     At 

287 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

first  they  seemed  not  averse,  but  as  soon  as  they 
realized  the  milk  was  not  for  our  own  consumption, 
they  turned  their  backs  on  poor  Sabakaki  and  re- 
fused to  have  anything  more  to  do  with  us. 

These  Masai  are  very  difficult  to  trade  with. 
Their  only  willing  barter  is  done  in  sheep.  These 
they  seem  to  consider  legitimate  objects  of  commerce. 

A  short  distance  from  our  camp  stood  three  white- 
washed round  houses  with  thatched,  conical  roofs, 
property  of  a  trader  named  Agate.  He  was  away 
at  the  time  of  our  visit. 

After  an  early  morning  but  vain  attempt  to  get 
Billy  a  shot  at  a  lion*  we  set  out  for  our  distant  blue 
mountains.  The  day  was  a  journey  over  plains  of 
great  variegation.  At  times  they  were  covered  with 
thin  scrub;  at  others  with  small  groves;  or  again 
they  were  open  and  grassy.  Always  they  undulated 
gently,  so  from  their  tops  one  never  saw  as  far  as 
he  thought  he  was  going  to  see.  As  landmark  we 
steered  by  a  good-sized  butte  named  Donya  Rasha. 

Memba  Sasa  and  I  marched  ahead  on  foot.  In 
this  thin  scrub  we  got  glimpses  of  many  beasts.  At 
one  time  we  were  within  fifty  yards  of  a  band  of 
magnificent  eland.  By  fleeting  glimpses  we  saw  also 
many  wildebeeste  and  zebra,  with  occasionally  one 
of  the  smaller  grass  antelope.     Finally,  in  an  open 

*See  "The  Land  of  Footprints." 

288 


The  Eland 


Cape  Buffalo 


THE  SOUTHERN  GUASO  NYERO 

glade  we  caught  sight  of  something  tawny  showing 
in  the  middle  of  a  bush.  It  was  too  high  off  the 
ground  to  be  a  buck.  We  sneaked  nearer.  At 
fifty  yards  we  came  to  a  halt,  still  puzzled.  Judging 
by  its  height  and  colour,  it  should  be  a  lion,  but 
try  as  we  would,  we  could  not  make  out  what  part 
of  his  anatomy  was  thus  visible.  At  last  I  made 
up  my  mind  to  give  him  a  shot  from  the  Springfield, 
with  the  .405  handy.  At  the  shot  the  tawny  patch 
heaved  and  lay  still.  We  manoeuvred  cautiously, 
and  found  we  had  killed  stone  dead  not  a  lion,  but 
a  Bohur  reed  buck  lying  atop  an  anthill  concealed 
in  the  middle  of  the  bush.  This  accounted  for  its 
height  above  the  ground.  As  it  happened,  I  very 
much  wanted  one  of  these  animals  as  a  specimen; 
so  everybody  was  satisfied. 

Shortly  after,  attracted  by  a  great  concourse  of 
carrion  birds,  both  on  trees  and  in  the  air,  we  pene- 
trated a  thicket  to  come  upon  a  full-grown  girafi"e 
killed  by  lions.  The  claw  marks  and  other  indica- 
tions were  indubitable.  The  carcass  had  been 
partly  eaten;  but  was  rapidly  vanishing  under  the 
attacks  of  the  birds. 

Just  before  noon  we  passed  Donya  Rasha  and 
emerged  on  the  open  plains.  Here  I  caught  sight 
of  a  Roberts'  gazelle,  a  new  species  to  me,  and 
started  alone  in  pursuit.     They,  as  usual,  trotted 

289 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

over  the  nearest  rise;  so  with  due  precautions  I 
followed  after.  At  the  top  of  that  rise  I  lay  still 
in  astonishment.  Before  me  marched  solemnly  an 
unbroken  single  file  of  game,  reaching  literally  to 
my  limit  of  vision  in  both  directions.  They  came 
over  the  land  swell  a  mile  to  my  left,  and  they  were 
disappearing  over  another  land  swell  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  my  right.  It  was  rigidly  single  file,  except 
for  the  young;  the  nose  of  one  beast  fairly  touching 
the  tail  of  the  one  ahead,  and  it  plodded  along  at 
a  businesslike  walk.  There  were  but  three  species 
represented,  the  gnu,  the  zebra,  and  the  hartebeeste. 
I  did  not  see  the  head  of  the  procession,  for  it  had 
gone  from  sight  before  I  arrived;  nor  did  I  ever  see 
the  tail  of  it  either,  for  the  safari  appearing  inop- 
portunely broke  its  continuance.  But  I  saw  two 
miles  and  a  half,  solid,  of  big  game.  It  was  a  great 
and  formal  trek,  probably  to  new  pastures. 

Then  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  Roberts'  gazelle, 
and  my  good  luck  downed  a  specimen  at  273  yards. 
This  with  the  Bohur  reed  buck,  made  the  second 
new  species  for  the  day.  Our  luck  was  not  yet  over, 
however.  We  had  proceeded  but  a  few  miles  when 
Kongoni  discovered  a  herd  of  topi.  The  safari  im- 
mediately lay  down,  while  I  went  ahead.  There 
was  little  cover,  and  I  had  a  very  hard  time  to  get 
within    range,    especially   as    a   dozen   zebras    kept 

290 


THE  SOUTHERN  GUASO  NYERO 

grazing  across  the  line  of  my  stalks.  The  topi 
themselves  were  very  uneasy,  crossing  and  recrossing 
and  looking  doubtfully  in  my  direction.  I  had  a 
number  of  chances  at  small  bucks,  but  refused  them 
in  my  desire  to  get  a  shot  at  the  big  leader  of  the 
herd.  Finally  he  separated  from  the  rest  and  faced 
in  my  direction  at  just  z68  yards.  At  the  shot  he 
fell  dead. 

For  the  first  time  we  had  an  opportunity  to 
admire  the  wonderful  pelt.  It  is  beautiful  in  quality, 
plum  colour,  with  iridescent  lights  and  wavy  "water 
marks"  changing  to  pearl  colour  on  the  four  quarters, 
with  black  legs.  We  were  both  struck  with  the 
gorgeousness  of  a  topi  motor-rug  made  of  three 
skins,  with  these  pearl  spots  as  accents  in  the  corners. 
To  our  ambitions  and  hopes  we  added  more  topi. 

Our  journey  to  the  Narossara  River  lasted  three 
days  in  all.  We  gained  an  outlying  spur  of  the  blue 
mountains,  and  skirted  their  base.  The  usual  varied 
foothill  country  led  us  through  defiles,  over  ridges, 
and  by  charming  groves.  We  began  to  see  Masai 
cattle  in  great  herds.  The  gentle  humpbacked 
beasts  were  held  in  close  formation  by  herders  afoot, 
tall,  lithe  young  savages  with  spears.  In  the  distance 
and  through  the  heat  haze  the  beasts  shimmered 
strangely,  their  glossy  reds  and  whites  and  blacks 
blending   together.     In    this    country   of   wide   ex- 

291 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

panses  and  clear  air  we  could  thus  often  make  out 
a  very  far-off  herd  simply  as  a  speck  of  rich  colour 
against  the  boundless  rolling  plains. 

Here  we  saw  a  good  variety  of  game.  Zebras  of 
course,  and  hartebeeste;  the  Robert's  gazelle,  a  few 
topi,  a  good  many  of  the  gnu  or  wildebeeste  dis- 
covered by  and  named  after  Roosevelt;  a  few  giraffes, 
klipspringer  on  the  rocky  buttes,  cheetah,  and  the 
usual  jackals,  hyenas,  etc.  I  killed  one  very  old 
zebra.  So  ancient  was  he  that  his  teeth  had  worn 
down  to  the  level  of  the  gums,  which  seemed  fairly 
on  the  point  of  closing  over.  Nevertheless  he  was 
still  fat  and  sleek.  He  could  not  much  longer  have 
continued  to  crop  the  grass.  Such  extreme  age  in 
wild  animals  is,  in  Africa  at  least,  most  remarkable; 
for  generally  they  meet  violent  deaths  while  still 
in  their  prime. 

About  three  o'clock  of  the  third  afternoon  we  came 
in  sight  of  a  long  line  of  forest  trees  running  down 
parallel  with  the  nearest  mountain  ranges.  These 
marked  the  course  of  the  Narossara;  and  by  four 
o'clock  we  were  descending  the  last  slope. 


292 


XXXVIII 
THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

THE  Narossara  is  really  only  about  creek  size, 
but  as  it  flows  the  year  around  it  merits  the 
title  of  river.  It  rises  in  the  junction  of  a  long 
spur  with  the  main  ranges,  cuts  straight  across  a 
wide  inward  bend  of  the  mountains,  joins  them  again, 
plunges  down  a  deep  and  tremendous  canon  to 
the  level  of  a  second  bench  below  great  cliffs,  mean- 
ders peacefully  in  flowery  meadows  and  delightful 
glades  for  some  miles,  and  then  once  more,  and, 
most  unexpectedly,  drops  eighteen  hundred  feet  by 
waterfall  and  precipitous  cascade  to  join  the  Southern 
Guaso  Nyero.  The  country  around  this  junction 
is  some  of  the  roughest  I  saw  in  Africa. 

We  camped  at  the  spot  where  the  river  ran  at 
about  its  maximum  distance  from  the  mountains. 
Our  tents  were  pitched  beneath  the  shade  of  tall  and 
refreshing  trees. 

A  number  of  Masai  women  visited  us,  laughing 
and  joking  with  Billy  in  their  quizzically  humorous 
fashion.     About  as  we  were  sitting  down  at  table 

293 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

an  Englishman  wandered  out  of  the  greenery  and 
approached.  He  was  a  small  man,  with  a  tremen- 
dous red  beard;  wore  loose  garments  and  tennis  shoes; 
and  strolled  up,  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  smok- 
ing a  cigarette.  This  was  V.,  a  man  of  whom  we 
had  heard.  A  member  of  a  historical  family,  officer 
in  a  crack  English  regiment,  he  had  resigned  every- 
thing to  come  into  this  wild  country.  Here  he  had 
built  a  "boma,"  or  enclosed  compound,  and  engaged 
himself  in  acquiring  Masai  sheep  in  exchange  for 
beads,  wire,  and  cloth.  Obviously  the  profits  of 
such  transactions  could  not  be  the  temptation.  He 
liked  the  life,  and  he  liked  his  position  of  influence 
with  these  proud  and  savage  people.  Strangely 
enough,  he  cared  little  for  the  sporting  possibilities 
of  the  country,  though  of  course  he  did  a  little 
occasional  shooting;  but  was  quite  content  with  his 
trading,  his  growing  knowledge  of  and  intimacy  with 
the  Masai,  and  his  occasional  tremendous  journeys. 
To  the  casual  and  infrequent  stranger  his  attitude 
was  reported  most  uncertain. 

We  invited  him  to  tea,  which  he  accepted,  and  we 
fell  into  conversation.  He  and  Cuninghame  were  al- 
ready old  acquaintances.  The  man,  I  found,  was  shy 
about  talking  of  the  things  that  interested  him;  but  as 
they  most  decidedly  interested  us  also  we  managed 
to  convey  an  impression  of  our  sincerity.     There- 

294 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

after  he  was  most  friendly.  His  helpfulness,  kind- 
ness, and  courtesy  could  not  have  been  bettered. 
He  lent  us  his  own  boy  as  guide  down  through  the 
canons  of  the  Narossara  to  the  lower  benches,  where 
we  hoped  to  find  kudu;  he  offered  store  room  to 
such  of  our  supplies  as  we  intended  holding  in 
reserve;  he  sent  us  sheep  and  eggs  as  a  welcome 
variation  of  our  game  diet;  and  in  addition  he  gave 
us  Masai  implements  and  ornaments  we  could  not 
possibly  have  acquired  in  any  other  way.  It  is 
impossible  to  buy  the  personal  belongings  of  this 
proud  and  independent  people  at  any  price.  The 
price  of  a  spear  ordinarily  runs  about  two  rupees' 
worth,  when  one  trades  with  any  other  tribe.  I 
know  of  a  case  where  a  Masai  was  offered  fifty 
rupees  for  his  weapon,  but  refused  scornfully.  V. 
acquired  these  things  through  friendship;  and  after 
we  had  gained  his,  he  was  most  generous  with  them. 
Thus  he  presented  us  with  a  thing  almost  impossible 
to  get  and  seen  rarely  outside  of  museums  —  the 
Masai  war  bonnet  made  of  the  mane  of  a  lion.  It 
is  in  shape  and  appearance,  though  not  in  colour, 
almost  exactly  like  the  grenadier's  shako  of  the  last 
century.  In  addition  to  this  priceless  trophy  V. 
also  gave  us  samples  of  the  cattle  bells,  both  wooden 
and  metal,  ivory  ear  ornaments,  bead  bracelets, 
steel  collars,  circumcision  knives,  sword  belts,  and 

295 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

other  affairs  of  like  value.  But  I  think  that  the 
apogee  of  his  kindliness  was  reached  when  much 
later  he  heard  from  the  native  tribes  that  we  were 
engaged  in  penetrating  the  defiles  of  the  higher 
mountains.  Then  he  sent  after  us  a  swift  Masai 
runner  bearing  to  us  a  bottle  of  whiskey  and  a  mes- 
sage to  the  effect  that  V.  was  afraid  we  would  find 
it  very  cold  up  there!  Think  of  what  that  meant; 
turn  it  well  over  in  your  mind,  with  all  the  circum- 
stances of  distance  from  supplies,  difficulty  of  trans- 
portation and  all!  We  none  of  us  used  whiskey  in 
the  tropics,  so  we  later  returned  it  with  suitable 
explanation  and  thanks  as  being  too  good  to  waste. 

Next  morning,  under  guidance  of  our  friend's  boy, 
we  set  out  for  the  lower  benches,  leaving  N'gombe 
Brown  and  his  outfit  to  camp  indefinitely  until  we 
needed  him  for  the  return  journey. 

The  whole  lay  of  the  land  hereabout  is,  roughly 
speaking,  in  a  series  of  shelves.  Back  of  us  were  the 
high  mountains  —  the  Fourth  Bench;  we  had  been 
travelling  on  the  plateau  of  the  Loieta  —  the  Third 
Bench;  now  we  were  to  penetrate  some  apparently 
low  hills  down  an  unexpected  thousand  feet  to  the 
Second  Bench.  This  was  smaller;  perhaps  only  five 
miles  at  its  widest.  Its  outer  rim  consisted  also  of 
low  hills  concealing  a  drop  of  precipitous  cliffs. 
There  were  no  passes  nor  canons  here  —  the  streams 

296 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

dropped  over  in  waterfalls  —  and  precarious  game 
trails  offered  the  only  chance  for  descent.  The 
First  Bench  was  a  mere  ledge,  a  mile  or  so  wide. 
From  it  one  looked  down  into  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
Southern  Guaso  Nyero,  and  across  to  a  tangle  of 
eroded  mountains  and  malpais  that  filled  the  eye. 
Only  away  in  an  incredible  distance  were  other  blue 
mountains  that  marked  the  farther  side  of  the  great 
Rift  Valley. 

Our  present  task  was  to  drop  from  the  Third 
Bench  to  the  Second.  For  some  distance  we  fol- 
lowed the  Narossara;  then,  when  it  began  to  drop 
into  its  tremendous  gorge,  we  continued  along  the 
side  hills  above  it  until  by  means  of  various  "hogs' 
backs"  and  tributary  cafions  we  were  able  to  regain 
its  level  far  below.  The  going  was  rough  and  stony, 
and  hard  on  the  porters;  but  the  scenery  was  very 
wild  and  fine.  We  met  the  river  bottom  again  in 
the  pleasantest  oval  meadow  with  fine  big  trees. 
The  mountains  quite  surrounded  us,  towering  im- 
minent above  our  heads.  Ahead  of  us  the  stream 
broke  through  between  portals  that  rose  the  full 
height  of  the  ranges.  We  followed  it,  and  found 
ourselves  on  the  Second  Bench. 

Here  was  grass,  high  grass  in  which  the  boys  were 
almost  lost  to  sight.  Behind  us  the  ramparts  rose 
sheer  and  high;  and  over  across  the  way  were  some 

297 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

low  fifty-foot  cliffs  that  marked  a  plateau  land. 
Between  the  plateau  and  the  ranges  from  which  we 
had  descended  was  a  sort  of  slight  flat  valley  through 
which  meandered  the  forest  trees  that  marked  the 
stream. 

We  turned  to  the  right  and  marched  an  hour. 
The  river  gradually  approached  the  plateau,  so 
leaving  between  it  and  the  ramparts  a  considerable 
plain,  and  some  low  foothills.  These  latter  were 
reported  to  be  one  of  the  feeding  grounds  of  the 
greater  kudu. 

We  made  a  most  delightful  camp  at  the  edge  of 
great  trees  by  the  stream.  The  water  flowed  at  the 
bottom  of  a  little  ravine,  precipitous  in  most  places; 
but  with  gently  sloping  banks  at  the  spot  we  had 
chosen.  It  flowed  rapidly  over  clean  gravel,  with 
a  hurrying,  tinkling  sound.  A  broad  gravel  beach 
was  spread  on  the  hither  side  of  it,  like  a  spacious 
secret  room  in  the  jungle.  Here  too  was  a  little 
slope  on  which  to  sit,  with  the  thicket  all  about, 
the  clean,  swift  little  stream  below,  the  high 
forest  arches  above,  and  the  inquisitive  smaller 
creatures  hovering  near.  Others  had  been  here 
before  us,  the  wild  things,  taking  advantage  of  the 
easy  descent  to  drinking  water  —  eland,  buffalo, 
leopard,  and  small  bucks.  The  air  was  almost  cloy- 
ingly  sweet  with  a  perfume  like  sage-brush  honey. 

298 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

Our  first  task  was  to  set  our  boys  to  work  clearing 
a  space;  the  grass  was  so  high  and  rank  that  mere 
trampling  had  little  effect  on  it.  The  Baganda, 
Sabakaki,  we  had  been  compelled  to  leave  with  the 
ox-team.  So  our  twenty-seven  had  become  twenty- 
six. 

Next  morning  Cuninghame  and  I  started  out  very 
early  with  one  gunbearer.  The  direction  of  the  wind 
compelled  us  to  a  two  hours'  walk  before  we  could  be- 
gin to  hunt.  The  high  grass  was  soaked  with  a  very 
heavy  dew,  and  shortly  we  were  as  wet  as  though 
we  had  fallen  into  the  river.  A  number  of  horn- 
bills  and  parrots  followed  us  for  some  distance,  but 
soon  left  us  in  peace.  We  saw  the  Roberts'  gazelle 
and  some  hartebeeste. 

When  we  had  gained  a  point  of  vantage,  we  turned 
back  and  began  to  work  slowly  along  the  base  of 
the  mountains.  We  kept  on  a  general  level  a  hun- 
dred feet  or  so  up  their  slope,  just  high  enough  to 
give  us  a  point  of  overlook  for  anything  that  might 
stir  either  in  the  flat  plateau  foothills  or  the  plains. 
We  also  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  signs. 

We  had  proceeded  in  this  manner  for  an  hour 
when  in  an  opening  between  two  bushes  below  us, 
and  perhaps  five  hundred  yards  away  we  saw  a 
leopard  standing  like  a  statue,  head  up,  a  most 
beautiful  spectacle.     While  we  watched  her  through 

299 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  glasses,  she  suddenly  dropped  flat  out  of  sight. 
The  cause  we  discovered  to  be  three  hartebeeste 
strolling  sociably  along,  stopping  occasionally  to 
snatch  a  mouthful;  but  headed  always  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  bushes  behind  which  lay  the  great  cat. 
Much  interested,  we  watched  them.  They  dis- 
appeared behind  the  screen.  A  sudden  flash  marked 
the  leopard's  spring.  Two  badly  demoralized  harte- 
beeste stampeded  out  into  the  open  and  away;  two 
only.     The  kill  had  been  made. 

We  had  but  the  one  rifle  with  us,  for  we  were 
supposed  to  be  out  after  kudu  only,  and  were 
travelling  as  light  as  possible.  No  doubt  the  Spring- 
field would  kill  a  leopard,  if  the  bullet  landed  in  the 
right  place.  We  discussed  the  matter.  It  ended, 
of  course,  in  our  sneaking  down  there;  I  with  the 
Springfield,  and  Cuninghame  with  his  knife  un- 
sheathed. Our  precautions  and  trepidations  were 
wasted.  The  leopard  had  carried  the  hartebeeste 
bodily  some  distance,  had  thrust  it  under  a  bush,  and 
had  departed.  Cuninghame  surmised  it  would  return 
toward  evening. 

Therefore  we  continued  after  kudu.  We  found 
old  signs,  proving  that  the  beasts  visited  this  country, 
but  nothing  fresh.  We  saw,  however,  the  first  sing- 
sing;  some  impalla,  some  klipspringer,  and  Chan- 
ler's  reed  buck. 

300 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

At  evening  we  made  a  crafty  sneak  atop  the  mesa- 
like foothills  to  a  point  overlooking  the  leopard's 
kill.  We  lay  here  looking  the  place  over  inch  by 
inch  through  our  glasses,  when  an  ejaculation  of 
disgust  from  Kongoni  called  our  attention.  There 
at  another  spot  that  confounded  beast  sat  like  a 
house  cat  watching  us  cynically.  Either  we  had 
come  too  soon,  or  she  had  heard  us  and  retired  to 
what  she  considered  a  safe  distance.  There  was  of 
course  no  chance  of  getting  nearer;  so  I  sat  down, 
for  a  steadier  hold,  and  tried  her  anyway.  At  the 
shot  she  leaped  high  in  the  air,  rolled  over  once, 
then  recovered  her  feet  and  streaked  off  at  full  speed. 
Just  before  disappearing  over  a  slight  rise,  she 
stopped  to  look  back.  I  tried  her  again.  We  con- 
cluded this  shot  a  miss,  as  the  distance  and  light 
were  such  that  only  sheer  luck  could  have  landed 
the  bullet.  However,  that  luck  was  with  us.  Later 
developments  showed  that  both  shots  had  hit. 
One  cut  a  foreleg,  but  without  breaking  a  bone,  and 
the  other  had  hit  the  paunch.  One  was  at  380 
paces  and  the  other  at  490. 

We  found  blood  on  the  trail;  and  followed  it  a 
hundred  yards  and  over  a  small  ridge  to  a  wide 
patch  of  high  grass.  It  was  now  dark;  the  grass 
was  very  high;  and  the  animal  probably  desperate. 
The  situation  did  not  look  good  to  us,  badly  armed 

301 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

as  we  were.  So  we  returned  to  camp,  resolved  to 
take  up  the  trail  again  in  the  morning. 

Every  man  in  camp  turned  out  next  day  to  help 
beat  the  grass.  Cuninghame  with  the  .405,  stayed  to 
direct  and  protect  the  men;  while  I,  with  the  Spring- 
field, sat  down  at  the  head  of  the  ravine.  Soon  I  could 
hear  the  shrieks,  rattles,  shouts,  and  whistles  of  the 
line  of  men  as  they  beat  through  the  grass.  Small 
grass  bucks  and  hares  bounded  past  me;  birds  came 
whirring  by.  I  sat  on  a  little  anthill  spying  as  hard 
as  I  could  in  all  directions.  Suddenly  the  beaters 
fell  to  dead  silence.  Guessing  this  as  a  signal  to 
me  that  the  beast  had  been  seen,  I  ran  to  climb  a 
higher  anthill  to  the  left.  From  there  I  discerned 
the  animal  plainly,  sneaking  along  belly  to  earth, 
exactly  in  the  manner  of  a  cat  after  a  sparrow.  It 
was  not  a  woods-leopard;  but  the  plains-leopard,  or 
cheetah,  supposed  to  be  a  comparatively  harmless 
beast. 

At  my  shot  she  gave  one  spring  forward  and 
rolled  over  into  the  grass.  The  nearest  porters 
yelled,  and  rushed  in.  I  ran  too,  as  fast  as  I  could, 
but  was  not  able  to  make  myself  heard  above  the 
row.  An  instant  later  the  beast  came  to  its  feet 
with  a  savage  growl  and  charged  the  nearest  of  the 
men.  She  was  crippled,  and  could  not  move  as 
quickly  as  usual,  but  could  hobble  along  faster  than 

302 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

her  intended  victim  could  run.  This  was  a  tall  and 
very  conceited  Kavirondo.  He  fled;  but  ran  around 
in  circles,  in  and  out  among  his  excited  companions. 
The  cheetah  followed  him,  and  him  only,  with  most 
single-minded  purpose. 

I  dared  not  shoot  while  men  were  in  the  line  of 
fire  even  on  the  other  side  of  the  cheetah,  for  I  knew 
the  high-power  bullet  would  at  that  range  go  right 
on  through;  and  I  fairly  split  my  throat  trying  to 
clear  the  way.  It  seemed  five  minutes,  though  it 
was  probably  only  as  many  seconds,  before  I  got 
my  chance.  It  was  high  time.  The  cheetah  had 
reared  to  strike  the  man  down.*  My  shot  bowled 
her  over.  She  jumped  to  her  feet  again,  made 
another  dash  at  thoroughly  scared  Kavirondo,  and 
I  killed  her  just  at  his  coattails. 

The  cheetahs  ordinarily  are  supposed  to  be  cow- 
ards, although  their  size  and  power  are  equal  to 
that  of  other  leopards.  Nobody  is  afraid  of  them. 
Yet  this  particular  animal  charged  with  all  the 
ferocity  and  determination  of  the  lion;  and  would 
certainly  have  killed  or  badly  mauled  my  man.t 
To  be  sure  it  had  been  wounded;  and  had  had  all 
night  to  think  about  it. 

*This  is  an  interesting  fact  —  that  she  reared  to  strike  instead  of  springing, 
tit  must  be  remembered  that  this  beast  had  the  evening  before  killed  a 
3SO-pound  hartebeeste  with  ease. 

303 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

In  the  relief  from  the  tension  we  all  burst  into 
shrieks  of  laughter;  all  except  the  near-victim  of 
the  scrimmage,  who  managed  only  a  sickly  smile. 
Our  mirth  was  short.  Out  from  a  thicket  over  a 
hundred  yards  away  walked  one  of  the  men  who 
had  been  in  no  way  involved  in  the  fight,  calmly 
announcing  that  he  had  been  shot.  We  were  skep- 
tical, but  he  turned  his  back  and  showed  us  the 
bullet  hole  at  the  lower  edge  of  the  ribs.  One  of 
my  bullets,  after  passing  through  the  cheetah,  had 
ricocheted  and  picked  this  poor  fellow  out  from  the 
whole  of  an  empty  landscape.  And  this  after  I  had 
delayed  my  rescue  fairly  to  the  point  of  danger  in 
order  to  avoid  all  chance  of  hurting  some  one! 

We  had  no  means  of  telling  how  deeply  the  bullet 
had  penetrated;  so  we  reassured  the  man,  and  de- 
tailed two  men  to  assist  him  back  to  camp  by  easy 
stages.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  suffering  much  pain, 
and  he  had  lost  little  strength. 

At  camp,  however,  we  found  that  the  wound  was 
deep.  Cuninghame  generously  offered  to  make  a 
forced  march  in  order  to  get  the  boy  out  to  a  hos- 
pital. By  hitting  directly  across  the  rough  country 
below  the  benches  it  was  possible  to  shorten  the 
journey  somewhat,  provided  V.  could  persuade  the 
Masai  to  furnish  a  guide.  The  country  was  a  desert, 
and  the  water  scarce.     We  lined  up  our  remaining 

304 


The  Valley  of  Lengeetoto 


Cheetah 


Our  camp  at  the  Narossara 


'wm 


Our  camp  in  Lengeetoto 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

twenty-five  men  and  selected  the  twelve  best  and 
strongest.  These  we  offered  a  month  and  a  half's 
extra  wages  for  the  trip.  We  then  made  a  hammock 
out  of  one  of  the  ground  cloths,  and  the  same  after- 
noon Cuninghame  started.  I  sent  with  him  four  of 
my  own  men  as  far  as  the  ox-wagon  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  back  more  potio.  They  returned  the 
next  afternoon,  bringing  also  a  report  from  Cuning- 
hame that  all  was  well  so  far,  and  that  he  had  seen 
a  lion.  He  made  the  desert  trip  without  other  casu- 
alty than  the  loss  of  his  riding  mule;  and  landed  the 
wounded  man  in  the  hospital  all  right.  In  spite  of 
Cuninghame's  expert  care  on  the  journey  out,  and 
the  best  of  treatment  later,  the  boy,  to  my  great 
distress,  died  eleven  days  after  reaching  the  hospital. 
Cuninghame  was  gone  just  two  weeks. 

In  the  meantime  I  sent  out  my  best  trackers  in 
all  directions  to  look  for  kudu  signs,  conceiving  this 
the  best  method  of  covering  the  country  rapidly. 
In  this  manner  I  shortly  determined  that  chances 
were  small  here;  and  made  up  my  mind  to  move 
down  to  the  edge  of  the  bench  where  the  Narossara 
makes  its  plunge.  Before  doing  so,  however,  I 
hunted  for  and  killed  a  very  large  eland  bull  reported 
by  Mavrouki.  This  beast  was  not  only  one  of  the 
largest  I  ever  saw,  but  was  in  especially  fine  coat. 
He  stood  five  feet  and  six  inches  high  at  the  shoulder; 

30s 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

was  nine  feet  eight  inches  long,  without  the  tail; 
and  would  weigh  twenty-iive  hundred  pounds.  The 
men  were  delighted  with  this  acquisition.  I  now  had 
thirteen  porters,  the  three  gunbearers,  the  cook,  and 
the  two  boys.  They  surrounded  each  tiny  fire  with 
switches  full  of  roasting  meat;  they  cut  off  great 
hunks  for  a  stew;  they  made  quantities  of  biltong, 
or  jerky. 

Next  day  I  left  Kongoni  and  one  porter  at  the  old 
camp,  loaded  my  men  with  what  they  could  carry, 
and  started  out.  We  marched  a  little  over  two 
hours;  then  found  ourselves  beneath  a  lone  mimosa 
tree  about  a  quarter  mile  from  the  edge  of  the  bench. 
At  this  point  the  stream  drops  into  a  little  cafion 
preparatory  to  its  plunge;  and  the  plateau  rises 
ever  so  gently  to  tremendous  cliffs.  I  immediately 
dispatched  the  porters  back  for  another  load.  A 
fine  sing-sing  lured  me  across  the  river.  I  did  not 
get  the  sing  sing;  but  had  a  good  fight  with  two 
lions,  as  narrated  elsewhere.* 

In  this  spot  we  camped  a  number  of  days;  did  a 
heap  of  hard  climbing  and  looking;  killed  another 
lion  out  of  a  band  of  eight ;f  thoroughly  determined 
that  we  had  come  at  the  wrong  time  for  kudu;  and 
decided  on  another  move. 


*"The  Land  of  Footprints." 
t"The  Land  of  Footprints." 

306 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

This  time  our  journey  lasted  five  hours,  so  that 
our  relaying  consumed  three  days.  We  broke  back 
through  the  ramparts,  by  means  of  another  pass  we 
had  discovered  when  looking  for  kudu,  to  the  Third 
Bench  again.  Here  we  camped  in  the  valley  of 
Lengetoto. 

This  valley  is  one  of  tne  most  beautiful  and 
secluded  in  this  part  of  Africa.  It  is  shaped  like  an 
ellipse,  five  or  six  miles  long  by  about  three  miles 
wide;  and  is  completely  surrounded  by  mountains. 
The  ramparts  of  the  western  side  —  those  forming 
the  walls  of  the  Fourth  Bench  —  rise  in  sheer  rock 
cliffs,  forest  crowned.  To  the  east,  from  which 
direction  we  had  just  come,  were  high,  rounded 
mountains.  At  sunrise  they  cut  clear  in  an  outline 
of  milky  slate  against  the  sky. 

The  floor  of  this  ellipse  was  surfaced  in  gentle 
undulations,  like  the  low  swells  of  a  summer  sea. 
Between  each  swell  a  singing,  clear-watered  brook 
leaped  and  dashed  or  loitered  through  its  jungle. 
Into  the  mountains  ran  broad  upward  flung  valleys 
of  green  grass;  and  groves  of  great  forest  trees 
marched  down  canons  and  out  a  short  distance  into 
the  plains.  Everything  was  fresh  and  green  and 
cool.  We  needed  blankets  at  night,  and  each  morn- 
ing the  dew  was  cool  and  sparkling,  and  the  sky  very 
blue.     Underneath  the  forest  trees  of  the  stream 

307 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

beds,  and  the  canon,  were  leafy  rooms  as  small  as 
a  closet,  or  great  cathedral  aisles.  And  in  the  short 
brush  dwelt  rhinoceros  and  impalla;  in  the  jungles 
were  buffalo  and  elephant;  on  the  plains  we  saw 
giraffe,  hartebeeste,  zebra,  duiker;  and  in  the  bases 
of  the  hills  we  heard  at  evening  and  early  morning 
the  roaring  of  lions. 

In  this  charming  spot  we  lingered  eight  days; 
Memba  Sasa  and  I  spent  most  of  our  time  trying 
to  get  one  of  the  jungle-dwelling  buffalo  without  his 
getting  us.  In  this  we  were  finally  successful.* 
Then,  as  it  was  about  time  for  Cuninghame  to  return, 
we  moved  back  to  V.'s  boma  on  the  Narossara;  relay- 
ing, as  usual,  the  carrying  of  our  effects.  At  this  time 
I  had  had  to  lay  off  three  more  men  on  account  of 
various  sorts  of  illness,  so  was  still  more  cramped 
for  transportation  facilities.  As  we  were  breaking 
camp  a  lioness  leaped  to  her  feet  from  where  she  had 
been  lying  under  a  bush.  So  near  was  it  to  camp 
that  I  had  not  my  rifle  ready.  She  must  have  been 
lying  there  within  two  hundred  yards  of  our  tents, 
watching  all  our  activities. 

We  drew  in  to  V.'s  boma  a  little  after  two  o'clock. 
The  man  in  charge  of  our  tent  did  not  put  in  an 
appearance  until  next  day.  Fortunately  V.  had  an 
extra  tent,  which  he  lent  us.      We  camped  near  the 

*"  The  Land  of  Footprints." 

308 


THE  LOWER  BENCHES 

river,  just  outside  the  edge  of  the  river  forest.  The 
big  trees  sent  their  branches  out  over  us  very  far 
above,  while  a  winding  path  led  us  to  the  banks 
of  the  river  where  was  a  dingle  like  an  inner  room. 
After  dark  we  sat  with  V.  at  our  little  campfire. 
It  was  all  very  beautiful  —  the  skyful  of  tropical 
stars,  the  silhouette  of  the  forest  shutting  them  out, 
the  velvet  blackness  of  the  jungle  flickering  with 
fireflies,  the  purer  outlines  of  the  hilltops  and  dis- 
tant mountains  to  the  left,  the  porters'  tiny  fires 
before  the  little  white  tents;  and  in  the  distance, 
from  the  direction  of  V.'s  boma,  the  irregular  throb 
of  the  dance  drum  and  the  occasional  snatch  of 
barbaric  singing  borne  down  on  the  night  wind 
from  where  his  Wakambas  were  holding  an  ri'goma. 
A  pair  of  ibis  that  had  been  ejected  when  we  made 
camp  contributed  intermittent  outraged  and  raucous 
squawks  from  the  tiptop  of  some  neighbouring  tree. 


309 


XXXIX 
NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

IT  IS  in  no  way  my  intention  to  attempt  a  com- 
prehensive description  of  this  unique  people. 
My  personal  observation  is,  of  course,  inadequate 
to  that  task,  and  the  numerous  careful  works  on 
the  subject  are  available  to  the  interested  reader. 

The  southern  branch  of  the  race,  among  whom 
we  were  now  travelling,  are  very  fine  physically. 
Men  close  to  seven  feet  in  height  are  not  at  all 
uncommon,  and  the  average  is  well  above  six.  They 
are  strongly  and  lithely  made.  Their  skins  are  a 
red-brown  or  bronze,  generally  brought  to  a  high 
state  of  polish  by  liberal  anointing.  In  feature 
they  resemble  more  the  Egyptian  or  Abyssinian  than 
the  negro  cast  of  countenance.  The  women  are  tall 
and  well  formed,  with  proud,  quaintly  quizzical 
faces.  Their  expressions  and  demeanour  seem  to 
indicate  more  independence  and  initiative  than  is 
usual  with  most  savage  women,  but  whether  this  is 
actually  so  or  not,  I  cannot  say. 

On  this  imposing  and  pleasing  physical  foundation 

310 


o 


p 

l3 


C 


■'■V'^-'-^J^ 


Q? 


\ 

Dv^fli 

■|ugX 

] 

' 

I^HBb^ 

'a 

■sA 

■^ 

HJHli 

jiliHyj^H 

NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

your  true  Masai  is  content  to  build  a  very  slight 
superstructure  of  ornament.  His  ear-lobes  are  al- 
ways stretched  to  hang  down  in  long  loops,  in  which 
small  medals,  ornaments,  decorated  blocks  of  wood, 
or  the  like,  are  inserted.  Long  heavy  ovals  of 
ivory,  grooved  to  accommodate  the  flesh  loop,  very 
finely  etched  in  decorative  designs,  are  occasionally 
worn  as  "stretchers."  Around  the  neck  is  a  slender 
iron  collar,  and  on  the  arms  are  one  or  two  glittering 
bracelets.  The  sword  belt  is  of  leather  heavily 
beaded,  with  a  short  dangling  fringe  of  steel  beads. 
Through  this  the  short  blade  is  thrust.  When  in 
full-dress  the  warrior  further  sports  on  a  garter  a  hol- 
low iron  knee  bell,  connected  with  the  belt  by  a  string 
of  cowrie  shells  or  beads.  Often  is  added  a  curious 
triangular  strip  of  skin  fitting  over  the  chest,  and 
reaching  about  to  the  waist.  A  robe  or  short  cloak 
of  short-haired  sheepskin  is  sometimes  carried  for 
warmth,  but  not  at  all  for  modesty.  The  weapons 
are  a  long  narrow  bladed  heavy  spear,  the  buffalo 
hide  shield,  the  short  sword,  and  the  war  club  or 
runga.  The  women  are  always  shaven-headed,  wear 
voluminous  robes  of  soft  leather;  and  carry  a  great 
weight  of  heavy  wire  wound  into  anklets  and  stock- 
ings, and  brought  to  a  high  state  of  polish.  So 
extensive  are  these  decorations  that  they  really  form 
a  sort  of  armour,  with  breaks  only  for  the  elbow  and 

3" 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

the  knee  joints.  The  married  women  wear  also  a 
great  outstanding  collar. 

The  Masai  are  pastoral,  and  keep  immense  herds 
and  flocks.  Therefore  they  inhabit  the  grazing 
countries;  and  are  nomadic.  Their  villages  are  in- 
variably arranged  in  a  wide  circle,  the  low  huts  of 
mud  and  wattles  facing  in.  The  spaces  between  the 
huts  are  filled  in  with  thick  dense  thorn  brush,  thus 
enclosing  a  strong  corral,  or  boma.  These  villages 
are  called  manyattas.  They  are  built  by  the  women 
in  an  incredibly  brief  space  of  time.  Indeed,  an 
overchief  stopping  two  days  at  one  place  had  been 
known  to  cause  the  construction  of  a  complete  vil- 
lage, to  serve  only  for  that  period.  He  then  moved 
on,  and  the  manyatta  was  never  used  again!  Never- 
theless these  low  rounded  huts,  in  shape  like  a  loaf 
of  bread,  give  a  fictitious  impression  of  great  strength 
and  permanency.  The  smooth  and  hardened  mud 
resembles  masonry  or  concrete  work.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  it  is  the  thinnest  sort  of  a  shell  over  plaited 
withes.  The  single  entrance  to  this  compound  may 
be  closed  by  thorn  bush  so  that  at  night,  when  the 
lions  are  abroad,  the  Masai  and  all  his  herds  dwell 
quite  peaceably  and  safely  inside  the  boma.  Twelve 
to  twenty  huts  constitute  a  village. 

When  the  grass  Is  fed  down  the  village  moves 
to  a  new  location.     There  is  some  regulation  to  this, 

312 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

determined  by  the  overchiefs,  so  that  one  village 
does  not  interfere  with  another.  Beside  the  few 
articles  of  value  or  of  domestic  use,  the  only  things 
carried  away  from  an  old  village  are  the  strongly 
woven  shield-shaped  doors.  These  are  strapped 
along  the  flanks  of  the  donkeys,  while  the  other 
goods  rest  between.  A  donkey  pack,  Masai  fashion, 
is  a  marvellous  affair  that  would  not  stay  on  ten 
minutes  for  a  white  man. 

The  Masai  perform  no  agriculture  whatever, 
nor  will  they  eat  game  meat.  They  have  no  de- 
sire for  any  of  the  white  man's  provisions  except 
sugar.  In  fact  their  sole  habitual  diet  is  mixed 
cow's  blood  and  milk  —  no  fruits,  no  vegetables, 
no  grains,  rarely  flesh;  a  striking  commentary 
on  extreme  vegetarian  claims.  The  blood  they 
obtain  by  shooting  a  very  sharp-pointed  arrow 
into  a  neck  vein  of  the  cow.  After  the  requisite 
amount  has  been  drained,  the  wound  is  closed 
and  the  animal  turned  into  the  herd  to  recuper- 
ate. The  blood  and  milk  are  then  shaken  together 
in  long  gourds.  Certainly  the  race  seems  to 
thrive  on  this  strange  diet.  Only  rarely,  on 
ceremonial  occasions  or  when  transportation  is 
difficult,  do  they  eat  mutton  or  goat  flesh,  but 
never   beef. 

Of  labour  then,  about  a  Masai  village,  it  follows 

313 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

that  there  is  practically  none.  The  women  build 
the  manyattas;  there  is  no  cooking,  no  tilling  of  the 
soil,  no  searching  for  wild  fruits.  The  herds  have 
to  be  watched  by  day  and  driven  in  at  the  fall  of 
night;  that  is  the  task  of  the  boys  and  the  youths 
who  have  not  gone  through  with  the  quadriennial 
circumcision  ceremonies  and  become  El-morani,  or 
warriors.  Therefore  the  grown  men  are  absolutely 
and  completely  gentlemen  of  leisure.  In  civilization, 
the  less  men  do  the  more  important  they  are  in- 
clined to  think  themselves.  It  is  so  here.  Socially 
the  Masai  consider  themselves  several  cuts  above 
anybody  else  in  the  country.  As  social  superiority 
lies  mostly  in  thinking  so  hard  enough  —  so  that  the 
inner  belief  expresses  itself  in  the  outward  attitude 
and  manner  —  the  Masai  carry  it  off.  Their  haugh- 
tiness is  magnificent.  Also  they  can  look  as  unsmil- 
ing and  bored  as  anybody  anywhere.  Consequently 
they  are  either  greatly  admired;  or  greatly  hated 
and  feared,  as  the  case  happens  to  be,  by  all  the 
other  tribes.  The  Kikuyu  young  men  frankly  ape 
the  customs  and  ornaments  of  their  powerful  neigh- 
bours. Even  the  British  Government  treats  them 
very  gingerly  indeed,  and  allows  these  economically 
useless  savages  a  latitude  the  more  agricultural 
tribes  do  not  enjoy.  Yet  I  submit  that  any  people 
whose  property  is  in  immense  herds  can  more  easily 

314 


o 
o 


-T3 

7i 


T3 
G 

3 
O 


o 


"They  visited  camp  freely,  and  would  sit  down  for  a  good 
lively  afternoon  of  joking" 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

be  brought  to  terms  than  those  who  have  nothing 
so  valuable  to  lose. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  said  the  white  man  and 
the  Masai  have  never  had  it  out.  When  the  English, 
a  few  years  since,  were  engaged  in  opening  the  country 
they  carried  on  quite  a  stoutly  contested  little  war 
with  the  Wakamba.  These  people  put  up  so  good 
a  fight  that  the  English  anticipated  a  most  bitter 
struggle  with  the  Masai,  whose  territory  lay  next 
beyond.     To  their  surprise  the  Masai  made  peace. 

"We  have  watched  the  war  with  the  Wakamba," 
they  said,  in  effect,  "and  we  have  seen  the  Wakamba 
kill  a  great  many  of  your  men.  But  more  of  your 
men  came  in  always;  and  there  were  no  more  Wa- 
kamba to  come  in  and  take  the  places  of  those  who 
were  killed.  We  are  not  afraid.  If  we  should  war 
with  you,  we  would  undoubtedly  kill  a  great  many  of 
you,  and  you  would  undoubtedly  kill  a  great  many  of 
us.  But  there  can  be  no  use  in  that.  We  want  the 
ranges  for  our  cattle;  you  want  a  road.  Let  us,  then, 
agree." 

The  result  is  that  to-day  the  Masai  look  upon 
themselves  as  an  unconquered  people,  and  bear 
themselves  —  toward  the  other  tribes  —  accordingly. 
The  shrewd  common  sense  and  observation  evi- 
denced above  must  have  convinced  them  that  war 
now  would  be  hopeless. 

315 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

This  acute  intelligence  is  not  at  all  incompatible 
with  the  rather  bigoted  and  narrow  outlook  on 
life  inevitable  to  a  people  whose  ideals  are  made  up 
of  fancied  superiorities  over  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Witness,  the  feudal  aristocracies  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

With  this  type  the  underlying  theory  of  masculine 
activity  is  the  military.  Some  outlet  for  energy  was 
needed,  and  in  war  it  was  found.  Even  the  ordinary 
necessities  of  primitive  agriculture  and  of  the  chase 
were  lacking.  The  Masai  eats  neither  vegetable, 
grain,  nor  wild  game.  The  whole  of  young  manhood, 
then,  can  be  spent  in  no  better  occupation  than  the 
pursuit  of  warlike  glory  —  and  cows. 

On  this  rests  the  peculiar  social  structure  of  the 
people.  In  perusing  the  following  fragmentary  ac- 
count the  reader  must  first  of  all  divest  his  mind  of 
what  he  would,  according  to  white  man's  standards, 
consider  moral  or  immoral.  Such  things  must  be 
viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  people  believing 
in  them.  The  Masai  are  moral  in  the  sense  that 
they  very  rigorously  live  up  to  their  own  customs 
and  creeds.  Their  women  are  strictly  chaste  in  the 
sense  that  they  conduct  no  affairs  outside  those 
permitted  within  the  tribe.  No  doubt,  from  the 
Masai  point  of  view,  we  are  ourselves  immoral. 

The  small  boy,  as  soon  as  he  is  big  enough  to  be 
responsible  —  and   that   is   very   early   in   life  —  is 

316 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

given,  in  company  with  others,  charge  of  a  flock 
of  sheep.  Thence  he  graduates  to  the  precious  herds 
of  cows.  He  wears  little  or  nothing,  is  armed  with 
a  throwing  club,  a  long  stick;  or  perhaps  later  a 
broad-bladed,  short-headed  spear  of  a  pattern  pe- 
culiar to  boys  and  young  men.  His  life  is  thus  over 
the  free  open  hills  and  veldt,  until,  somewhere  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eighteen  and  twenty-one,  the  year 
of  the  circumcision  comes.  Then  he  enters  on  the 
long  ceremonies  that  initiate  him  into  the  warrior 
class.  My  knowledge  of  the  details  of  this  subject 
is  limited;  for  while  I  had  the  luck  to  be  in  Masailand 
on  the  fourth  year,  such  things  are  not  exhibited 
freely.  The  curious  reader  can  find  more  on  the 
subject  in  other  books;  but  as  this  is  confined  to 
personal  experiences  I  will  tell  only  what  I  have 
myself  elicited. 

The  youth's  shaved  head  is  allowed  to  grow  its 
hair.  He  hangs  around  his  brow  a  dangling  string 
of  bright-coloured  bird  skins  stuffed  out  in  the  shape 
of  little  cylinders,  so  that  at  a  short  distance  they 
look  like  curls.  For  something  like  a  month  of 
probation  he  wears  these;  then  undergoes  the  rite. 
For  ten  days  thereafter  he  and  his  companions,  their 
heads  daubed  with  clay  and  ashes,  clad  in  long 
black  robes,  live  out  in  the  brush.  They  have  no 
provision,  but  are  privileged  to  steal  what  they  need. 

317 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

At  the  end  of  the  ten  days  they  return  to  the  man- 
yattas.  A  three-day  rCgoma,  or  dance,  now  com- 
pletes their  transformation  to  the  El-morani  class. 
It  finishes  by  an  obscene  night  dance,  in  the  course 
of  which  the  new  warriors  select  their  partners. 

For  ten  or  twelve  years  these  young  men  are  El- 
morani.  They  dwell  in  a  separate  manyatta.  With 
them  dwell  promiscuously  all  the  young  unmarried 
women  of  the  tribe.  There  is  no  permanent  pairing 
off,  no  individual  property,  no  marriage.  Nor  does 
this  constitute  flagrant  immorality,  difficult  as  it  may 
be  for  us  to  see  that  fact.  The  institution,  like  all 
national  institutions,  must  have  had  its  origin  in  a 
very  real  need  and  a  very  practical  expediency. 
The  fighting  strength  of  the  tribe  must  be  kept  up, 
and  by  the  young  and  vigorous  stock.  On  the  other 
hand,  every  man  of  military  age  must  be  foot  free 
to  serve  in  the  constant  wars  and  forays.  This 
institution  is  the  means.  And,  mind  you,  unchastity 
in  the  form  of  illicit  intercourse  outside  the  manyatta 
of  the  El-morani,  whether  with  her  own  or  another 
tribe,  subjects  the  women  to  instant  death. 

The  El-morani  in  full  fighting  rig  are  imposing. 
They  are,  as  I  have  explained,  tall  and  of  fine  phy- 
sique. The  cherished  and  prized  weapon  is  the 
long,  narrow-bladed  spear.  This  is  five  and  six  feet 
long,  with  a  blade  over  three  feet  by  as  many  inches, 

318 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAT 

and  with  a  long,  iron  shoe.  In  fact,  only  a  bare  hand- 
hold of  wood  is  provided.  It  is  of  formidable  weight, 
but  so  well  balanced  that  a  flip  cast  with  the  wrist 
will  drive  it  clear  through  an  emeny.  A  short  sword 
and  a  heavy  headed  war  club  complete  the  offensive 
weapons.  The  shield  is  of  buffalo  hide,  oval  in  shape, 
and  decorated  with  a  genuine  heraldry,  based  on 
genealogy.  A  circlet  of  black  ostrich  feathers  in 
some  branches  surrounds  the  face  and  stands  high 
above  the  head.  In  the  southern  districts  the 
warriors  wear  two  single  black  ostrich  plumes  tied 
one  either  side  the  head,  and  slanting  a  little  back- 
ward. They  walk  with  a  mincing  step  so  that  the 
two  feathers  bob  gently  up  and  down  like  the  waving 
of  the  circus  equestrienne's  filmy  skirts. 

Naturally  the  Masai  with  the  Zulu  were  the  most 
dreaded  of  all  the  tribes  of  Africa.  They  were 
constantly  raiding  in  all  directions  as  far  as  their 
sphere  of  operations  could  reach,  capturing  cattle 
and  women  as  the  prizes  of  war.  Now  that  the 
white  man  has  put  a  stop  to  the  ferocious  intertribal 
wars  the  El-morani  are  out  of  a  job.  The  military 
organization  is  still  carried  on  as  before.  What  will 
happen  to  the  morals  of  the  people  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say.  The  twelve  years  of  imposed  peace 
have  not  been  long  enough  seriously  to  deteriorate 
the  people;  but,  inevitably,  complete  idleness  will 

319 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

tell.  Either  the  people  must  change  their  ideals  and 
become  industrious  —  which  is  extremely  unlikely  — • 
or  they  will  degenerate. 

As  a  passing  thought,  it  is  a  curious  and  for- 
midable fact  that  the  prohibition  of  intertribal 
wars  and  forays  all  through  East  Central  Africa 
has  already  permitted  the  population  to  increase 
to  a  point  of  discomfort.  Many  of  the  districts  are 
becoming  so  crowded  as  to  overflow.  What  will 
happen  in  the  long  run  only  time  can  tell  —  famine 
and  pestilence  probably.  Only  famine  and  pestilence 
are  weakening  things;  while  war  at  least  hardens  a 
nation's  fibre.  This  is  not  necessarily  an  argument 
for  war.  Only  everywhere  in  the  world  the  white 
man  seems  with  the  best  of  intentions  to  be  upsetting 
natural  balances  without  substituting  for  them.  We 
are  better  at  preventing  things  than  causing  them. 

At  the  age  of  thirty,  or  thereabout,  the  El- 
morani  becomes  an  Elder.  He  may  now  drink  and 
smoke,  vices  that  in  the  Spartan  days  of  his  military 
service  were  rigourously  denied  him.  He  may  also 
take  a  wife  or  wives,  according  to  his  means,  and 
keep  herds  of  cattle.  His  wives  he  purchases  from 
their  parents,  the  usual  medium  of  payment  being 
cows  or  sheep.  The  young  women  who  have  been 
living  in  the  El-morani  village  are  considered  quite 
as   desirable   as   the   young   virgins.     If   there   are 

320 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

children,  these  are  taken  over  by  the  husband. 
They  are  considered  rather  a  recommendation  than 
a  detriment,  for  they  prove  the  girl  is  fruitful. 

Relieved  of  all  responsibility  the  ex-warrior  now 
has  full  leisure  to  be  a  gentleman.  He  drinks  a 
fermented  liquor  made  from  milk;  he  takes  snuff  or 
smokes  the  rank  native  tobacco;  he  conducts  inter- 
minable diplomatic  negotiations;  he  oversees  mi- 
nutely the  forms  of  ceremonials;  he  helps  shape  the 
policies  of  his  manyatta,  and  he  gives  his  attention 
to  the  accumulation  of  cows. 

The  cow  is  the  one  thing  that  arouses  the  Masai's 
full  energies.  He  will  undertake  any  journey,  any 
task,  any  danger,  provided  the  reward  therefor  is 
horned  cattle.  And  a  cow  is  the  one  thing  he  will 
on  no  account  trade,  sell  or  destroy.  A  very  few 
of  them  he  milks,  and  a  very  few  of  them  he  period- 
ically bleeds;  but  the  majority,  to  the  numbers  of 
thousands  upon  thousands,  live  uselessly  until  they 
die  of  old  age.  They  are  branded,  generally  on  the 
flanks  or  ribs,  with  strange  large  brands,  and  are 
so  constantly  handled  that  they  are  tamer  and  more 
gentle  than  sheep.  I  have  seen  upward  of  a  thou- 
sand head  in  sole  charge  of  two  old  women  on  foot. 
These  ancient  dames  drove  the  beasts  in  a  long 
file  to  water,  then  turned  them  quite  easily  and 
drove  them  back  again.     Opposite  our  camp  they 

321 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

halted  their  charges  and  came  to  make  us  a  long 
visit.  The  cattle  stood  in  their  tracks  until  the  call 
was  over;  not  one  oifered  even  to  stray  off  the  baked 
earth  in  search  of  grasses. 

The  Masai  cattle  king  knows  his  property  individ- 
ually. Each  beast  has  its  name.  Some  of  the 
wealthier  are  worth  in  cattle,  at  settler's  prices, 
close  to  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  They  are  men 
of  importance  in  their  own  council  huts,  but  they 
lack  many  things  dear  to  the  savage  heart  simply 
because  they  are  unwilling  to  part  with  a  single 
head  of  stock  in  order  to  procure  them. 

In  the  old  days  forays  and  raids  tended  more  or 
less  to  keep  the  stock  down.  Since  the  White  Man's 
Peace  the  herds  are  increasing.  In  the  country  be- 
tween the  Mau  Escarpment  and  the  Narossara 
Mountains  we  found  the  feed  eaten  down  to  the 
earth  two  months  before  the  next  rainy  season. 
In  the  meantime  the  few  settlers  are  hard  put  to 
it  to  buy  cattle  at  any  price  wherewith  to  stock 
their  new  farms.  The  situation  is  an  anomaly  which 
probably  cannot  continue.  Some  check  will  have 
eventually  to  be  devised,  either  limiting  the  cattle, 
or  compelling  an  equitable  sale  of  the  surplus.  Cer- 
tainly the  present  situation  represents  a  sad  economic 
waste  —  of  the  energies  of  a  fine  race  destined  to 
rust  away,  and  of  the  lives  of  tens  of  thousands  of 

322 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

valuable  beasts  brought  into  existence  only  to  die 
of  old  age.  If  these  matchless  herders  and  cattle 
breeders  could  be  brought  into  relation  with  the 
world's  markets  everybody  would  be  the  better. 

Beside  his  sacred  cattle  the  Masai  raises  also 
lesser  herds  of  the  hairy  sheep  of  the  country. 
These  he  uses  for  himself  only  on  the  rare  occasions 
of  solitary  forced  marches  away  from  his  herds,  or 
at  the  times  of  ceremony.  Their  real  use  is  as  a 
trading  medium  —  for  more  cattle !  Certain  white 
men  and  Somalis  conduct  regular  trading  expeditions 
into  Masalland,  bringing  in  small  herds  of  cows 
bought  with  trade  goods  from  the  other  tribes.  These 
they  barter  with  the  Masai  for  sheep.  In  Masai 
estimation  a  cow  is  the  most  valuable  thing  on 
earth,  while  a  sheep  is  only  a  medium  of  exchange. 
With  such  notions  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  white 
man  can  make  an  advantageous  exchange,  in  spite 
of  the  Masai's  well-known  shrewdness  at  a  bargain. 
Each  side  is  satisfied.  There  remains  only  to  find 
a  market  for  the  sheep  —  an  easy  matter.  A  small 
herd  of  cows  will  in  the  long  run  bring  quite  a  decent 
profit. 

The  Masai  has  very  little  use  for  white  man's 
products.  He  will  trade  for  squares  of  cloth,  beads 
of  certain  kinds  and  in  a  limited  quantity,  brass  and 
iron  wire  of  heavy  gauge,  blankets  and  sugar.     That, 

323 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

barring  occasional  personal  idiosyncrasy,  is  about  all. 
For  these  things  he  will  pay  also  in  sheep.  Masai 
curios  are  particularly  difficult  to  get  hold  of.  I 
rather  like  them  for  their  independence  in  that 
respect.  I  certainly  should  refuse  to  sell  my  tennis 
shoes  from  my  feet  merely  because  some  casual 
Chinaman  happened  to  admire  them! 

The  women  seem  to  occupy  a  position  quite  satis- 
factory to  themselves.  To  be  sure  they  do  the  work; 
but  there  is  not  much  work!  They  appear  to  be 
well  treated;  at  least  they  are  always  in  good  spirits, 
laughing  and  joking  with  each  other,  and  always 
ready  with  quick  repartee  to  remarks  flung  at  them 
by  the  safari  boys.  They  visited  camp  freely,  and 
would  sit  down  for  a  good  lively  afternoon  of  joking. 
Their  expressions  were  quizzical  with  a  sly  intelli- 
gent humour.  In  spite  of  the  apparent  unabashed 
freedom  of  their  deportment  they  always  behaved 
with  the  utmost  circumspection;  nor  did  our  boys 
ever  attempt  any  familiarity.  The  unobtrusive 
lounging  presence  in  the  background  of  two  warriors 
with  long  spears  may  have  had  something  to  do 
with  this. 

The  Masai  government  is  centred  in  an  overlord 
or  king.  His  orders  seem  to  be  implicitly  obeyed. 
The  present  king  I  do  not  know,  as  the  old  king, 
Lenani,   has   just  died   at   an   advanced   age.      In 

324 


Warriors 


"The  southern  branch  of  the  race  —  are  very  fine  physically ' 


Masai  men  and  women 


"In  the  southern  districts  the  warriors  wear  two  single 
black  ostrich  feathers" 


NOTES  ON  THE  MASAI 

former  days  the  traveller  on  entering  Masailand 
was  met  by  a  sub-chief.  This  man  planted  his 
long  spear  upright  in  the  ground,  and  the  intending 
traveller  flung  over  it  coils  of  the  heavy  wire.  A 
very  generous  traveller  who  completely  covered  the 
spear  then  had  no  more  trouble.  One  less  lavish 
was  likely  to  be  held  up  for  further  impositions  as 
he  penetrated  the  country.  This  tax  was  called  the 
honga. 

The  Masai  language  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of 
all  the  native  tongues.  In  fact,  the  white  man  is 
almost  completely  unable  even  to  pronounce  many 
of  the  words.  V.,  who  is  a  "Masai-man "  who  knows 
them  intimately,  and  who  possesses  their  confidence, 
does  not  pretend  to  talk  with  them  in  their  own 
tongue,  but  employs  the  universal  Swahili. 


32s 


XL 

THROUGH  THE  ENCHANTED  FOREST 

WE  waited  at  V.'s  boma  three  days,  waiting  for 
Cuninghame  to  turn  up.  He  maintained  a 
little  force  of  Wakamba,  as  the  Masai  would  not  take 
service.  The  Wakamba  are  a  hunting  tribe,  using  both 
the  spear  and  the  poisoned  arrow  to  kill  their  game. 
Their  bows  are  short  and  powerful,  and  the  arrows  ex- 
ceedingly well  fashioned.  The  poison  is  made  from 
the  wood  of  a  certain  fat  tree  with  fruit  like  gigantic 
bologna  sausages.  It  is  cut  fine,  boiled,  and  the 
product  evaporated  away  until  only  a  black  sticky 
substance  remains.  Into  this  the  point  of  the  arrow 
is  dipped;  and  the  head  is  then  protected  until 
required  by  a  narrow  strip  of  buckskin  wound  around 
and  around  it.  I  have  never  witnessed  the  effects 
of  this  poison;  but  V.  told  me  he  had  seen  an  eland 
die  in  twenty-two  minutes  from  so  slight  a  wound  in 
the  shoulder  that  it  ran  barely  a  hundred  yards 
before  stopping.  The  poison  more  or  less  loses  its 
efficiency,  however,  after  the  sticky  tarlike  substance 
has  dried  out. 

326 


THROUGH  THE  ENCHANTED  FOREST 

I  offered  a  half  rupee  as  a  prize  for  an  archery 
competition,  for  I  was  curious  to  get  a  line  on  their 
marksmanship.  The  bull's-eye  was  a  piece  of 
typewriter  paper*  at  thirty  paces.  This  they 
managed  to  puncture  only  once  out  of  fifteen  tries; 
though  they  never  missed  it  very  widely.  V.  seemed 
quite  put  out  at  this  poor  showing,  so  I  suppose 
they  can  ordinarily  do  better;  but  I  imagine  they 
are  a  good  deal  like  our  hunting  Indians,  poor  shots 
but  very  skilful  at  stalking  close  to  a  beast. 

Our  missing  porter,  with  the  tent,  was  brought  in 
next  afternoon  by  Kongoni,  who  had  gone  in  search 
of  him.  The  man  was  a  big,  strong  Kavirondo.  He 
was  sullen,  and  merely  explained  that  he  was  "tired." 
This  excuse  for  a  five  hours'  march  after  eight  days' 
rest!  I  fined  him  eight  rupees,  which  I  gave  Kongoni 
and  ordered  him  twenty-five  lashes.  Six  weeks  later 
he  did  the  same  trick.  Cuninghame  alotted  him  fifty 
lashes  and  had  him  led  thereafter  by  a  short  rope 
around  the  neck.  He  was  probably  addicted  to 
opium.  This  was  the  only  man  to  be  formally  kiho- 
koed  on  the  whole  trip  —  a  good  testimony  at  once 
to  Cuninghame's  management,  the  discrimination  we 
had  used  in  picking  them  out,  and  the  settled  reputa- 
tions we  had  by  now  acquired. 

After  Cuninghame's  return  we  prepared  to  pene- 

*8xio}  inches. 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

trate  straight  back  through  the  great  rampart  of 
mountains  to  the  south  and  west. 

We  crossed  the  bush-grown  plains,  and  entered  a 
gently  rising  long  canon  flanked  on  either  side  by 
towering  ranges  that  grew  higher  and  higher  the 
farther  we  proceeded.  In  the  very  centre  of  the 
mountains,  apparently,  this  cafion  ended  in  a  small 
round  valley.  There  appeared  to  be  no  possible 
exit,  save  by  the  way  we  had  come,  or  over  the 
almost  perpendicular  ridges  a  thousand  feet  or 
more  above.  Nevertheless  we  discovered  a  narrow 
ravine  that  slanted  up  into  the  hills  to  the  left. 
Following  it  we  found  ourselves  very  shortly  in  a 
great  forest  on  the  side  of  a  mountain.  Hanging 
creepers  brushed  our  faces,  tangled  vines  hung 
across  our  view,  strange  and  unexpected  openings 
offered  themselves  as  a  means  through  which  we 
could  see  a  little  closer  into  the  heart  of  mystery. 
The  air  was  cool  and  damp  and  dark.  The  occasional 
shafts  of  sunlight  or  glimpses  of  blue  sky  served 
merely  to  accentuate  the  soft  gloom.  Save  that  we 
climbed  always,  we  could  not  tell  where  we  were  going. 

The  ascent  occupied  a  little  over  an  hour.  Then 
through  the  tree  trunks  and  undergrowth  we  caught 
the  skyline  of  the  crest.  When  we  topped  this  we 
took  a  breath,  and  prepared  ourselves  for  a  cor- 
responding descent.     But  in   a   hundred  yards  we 

328 


THROUGH  THE  ENCHANTED  FOREST 

popped  out  of  the  forest  to  find  ourselves  on  a  new 
level.     The  Fourth  Bench  had  been  attained. 

It  was  a  grass  country  of  many  low,  rounded  hills 
and  dipping  valleys,  with  fine  isolated  oaklike  trees 
here  and  there  in  the  depressions,  and  compact, 
beautiful  oaklike  groves  thrown  over  the  hills  like 
blankets.  Well-kept,  green,  trim,  intimate,  it  should 
have  had  church  spires  and  gray  roofs  in  appropri- 
ate spots.  It  was  a  refreshment  to  the  eye  after 
the  great  and  austere  spaces  among  which  we  had 
been  dwelling,  a  repose  to  the  spirit  after  the  alert 
and  dangerous  lands.  The  dark  curtained  forest 
seemed,  fancifully,  an  enchantment  through  which 
we  had  gained  to  this  remote  smiling  land,  nearest 
of  all  to  the  blue  sky. 

We  continued  south  for  two  days;  and  then,  as 
the  narrative  will  show,  were  forced  to  return.  We 
found  it  always  the  same  type;  pleasant  sleepy  little 
valleys  winding  around  and  between  low  hills 
crowned  with  soft  groves  and  forests.  It  was  for 
all  the  world  like  northern  Surrey,  or  like  some  of 
the  liveoak  country  of  California.  Only  this  we 
soon  discovered:  in  spite  of  the  enchantment  of  the 
magic-protecting  forest,  the  upper  benches,  too,  were 
subject  to  the  spell  that  lies  over  all  Africa.  These 
apparently  little  valleys  were  in  reality  the  matter 
of  an  hour's  journey  to  cross;  these  rounded  hills, 

329 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

to  all  seeming  only  two  good  golf  strokes  from 
bottom  to  top,  were  matters  of  serious  climbing; 
these  compact,  squared  groves  of  oaklike  trees  were 
actually  great  forests  of  giants  in  which  one  could 
lose  one's  self  for  days,  in  which  roamed  herds  of 
elephant  and  buffalo.  It  looked  compact  because 
we  could  see  all  its  constituent  elements.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  was  neat  and  tidy;  only  we  were,  as 
usual,  too  small  for  it. 

At  the  end  of  two  hours'  fast  marching  we  had 
made  the  distance,  say,  from  the  clubhouse  to  the 
second  hole.  Then  we  camped  in  a  genuinely  little 
grove  of  really  small  trees  overlooking  a  green  valley 
bordered  with  wooded  hills.  The  prospect  was 
indescribably  delightful;  a  sort  of  Sunday-morning 
landscape  of  groves  and  green  grass  and  a  feeling  of 
church  bells. 

Only  down  the  valley,  diminished  by  distance, 
all  afternoon  Masai  warriors,  in  twos  and  threes, 
trooped  by,  mincing  along  so  that  their  two  ostrich 
feathers  would  bob  up  and  down,  their  spears  held 
atrail. 

We  began  to  realize  that  we  were  indeed  In  a  new 
country  when  our  noon  thermometer  registered  only 
66,  and  when  at  sunrise  the  following  morning  it 
stood  at  44.  To  us,  after  eight  months  under  the 
equator,  this  was  bitter  weather! 

330 


XLI 

NAIOKOTUKU 

NEXT  morning  we  marched  on  up  the  beautiful 
valley  through  shoulder-high  grasses  wet  with 
dew.  At  the  end  of  two  hours  we  came  to  the 
limit  of  Leyeye's  knowledge  of  the  country.  It 
would  now  be  necessary  to  find  savage  guides. 

Accordingly,  while  we  made  camp,  Cuninghame, 
with  Leyeye  as  interpreter,  departed  in  search  of  a 
Masai  village.  So  tall  and  rank  grew  the  grass  that 
we  had  to  clear  it  out  as  one  would  clear  brushwood 
in  order  to  make  room  for  our  tents. 

Several  hours  later  Cuninghame  returned.  He 
had  found  a  very  large  village,  but  unfortunately  the 
savages  were  engaged  in  a  big  rCgoma  which  could 
not  be  interrupted  by  mere  business.  However,  the 
chief  was  coming  to  make  a  friendly  call.  When  the 
fCgoma  should  be  finished,  he  would  be  delighted  to 
furnish  us  with  anything  we  might  desire. 

Almost  on  the  heels  of  this  the  chief  arrived.  He 
was  a  fine  old  savage,  over  six  feet  tall,  of  well 
proportioned  figure,  and  with  a  shrewd,  intelligent 

331 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

face.  The  rCgoma  had  him,  to  a  limited  extent,  for 
he  stumbled  over  tent  ropes,  smiled  a  bit  uncertainly, 
and  slumped  down  rather  suddenly  when  he  had 
meant  to  sit.  However,  he  both  stumbled,  smiled, 
and  slumped  with  unassailable  dignity. 

From  beneath  his  goatskin  robe  he  produced  a  long 
ornamented  gourd  from  which  he  offered  us  a  drink  of 
fermented  milk.  He  took  our  refusal  good-naturedly. 
The  gourd  must  have  held  a  gallon,  but  he  got 
away  with  all  of  its  contents  in  the  course  of  the  in- 
terview; also  several  pints  of  super-sweetened  coffee 
which  we  doled  out  to  him  a  little  at  a  time,  and 
which  he  seemed  to  appreciate  extravagantly. 

Through  Leyeye  we  exchanged  the  compliments  of 
the  day,  and,  after  the  African  custom,  told  each 
other  how  important  we  were.  Our  visitor  turned 
out  to  be  none  other  than  the  brother  of  Lenani,  the 
paramount  chief  of  all  the  Masai.  I  forget  what  I 
was,  either  the  brother  of  King  George  or  the  nephew 
of  Theodore  Roosevelt  —  the  only  two  white  men 
every  native  has  heard  of.  It  may  be  that  both  of  us 
were  mistaken,  but  from  his  evident  authority  over 
a  very  wide  district  we  were  inclined  to  believe  our 
visitor. 

We  told  him  we  wanted  guides  through  the  hills  to 
the  southward.  He  promised  them  in  a  most 
friendly  fashion. 

332 


"The  girl  in  the  middle  ground  has  painted  her  face  white 
to  indicate  travel" 


fsasasMi^^^ 

^ 

^'^^ 

h^ 

L 

4 

When  moving  the  villages  they  take  with  them  only 
the  wicker  doors 


IS 

S 


a 


>> 

^ 

§- 


NAIOKOTUKU 

"I  do  not  know  the  white  man,"  said  he.  "I  live 
always  in  these  mountains.  But  my  brother  Lenani 
told  me  ten  years  ago  that  some  day  the  white  man 
would  come  into  my  country.  My  brother  told  me 
that  when  the  white  man  came  travelling  in  my 
country  I  must  treat  him  well,  for  the  white  man  is 
a  good  friend  but  a  bad  enemy.  I  have  remembered 
my  brother  Lenani's  words,  though  they  were 
spoken  a  long  time  ago.  The  white  man  has  been 
very  long  in  coming;  but  now  he  is  here.  Therefore 
I  have  brought  you  milk  to-day,  and  to-morrow  I 
will  send  you  sheep;  and  later  I  will  send  young  men 
who  know  the  hills  to  take  you  where  you  wish 
to  go." 

We  expressed  gratification,  and  I  presented  him 
with  a  Marble  fish  knife.  The  very  thin  blade  and 
the  ingenious  manner  in  which  the  two  halves  of 
the  handle  folded  forward  over  it  pleased  him  im- 
mensely. 

"No  one  but  myself  shall  ever  use  this  knife," 
said  he. 

He  had  no  pockets,  but  he  tucked  it  away  in  his 
armpit,  clamped  the  muscles  down  over  it,  and 
apparently  forgot  it.  At  least  he  gave  it  no  further 
attention,  used  his  hands  as  usual,  but  retained  it 
as  securely  as  in  a  pocket. 

"To-morrow,"    he    promised    at    parting,    "very 

333 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

early  in  the  morning,  I  will  send  my  own  son  and 
another  man  to  guide  you;  and  I  will  send  a  sheep 
for  your  meat." 

We  arose  "very  early,"  packed  our  few  affairs, 
picked  out  four  porters  —  and  sat  down  to  wait. 
Our  plan  was  to  cruise  for  five  days  with  as  light  and 
mobile  an  outfit  as  possible,  and  then  to  return  for 
fresh  supplies.  Billy  would  take  charge  of  the  main 
camp  during  our  absence.  As  advisers  we  left  her 
Abba  Ali,  Memba  Sasa,  and  Mohamet. 

At  noon  we  were  still  waiting.  The  possibility  of 
doing  a  full  day's  journey  was  gone,  but  we  thought 
we  might  at  least  make  a  start.  At  one  o'clock, 
just  as  we  had  about  given  up  hope,  the  Masai 
strolled  in.  They  were  beautiful,  tall,  straight 
youths,  finely  formed,  with  proud  features  and  a 
most  graceful  carriage.  In  colour  they  were  as 
though  made  of  copper  bronze,  with  the  same  glitter 
of  high  lights  from  their  fine-textured  skins.  Even 
in  this  chilly  climate  they  were  nearly  naked.  One 
carried  a  spear;  the  other  a  bow  and  arrow. 

Joyously  we  uprose  —  and  sat  down  again.  We 
had  provided  an  excellent  supply  of  provisions  for 
our  guides;  but  on  looking  over  the  lot  they  dis- 
covered nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  that  met  their 
ideas. 

"  What  ^0  they  want  .'"'we  asked  Leyeye  in  despair. 

334 


NAIOKOTUKU 

"They  say  they  will  eat  nothing  but  sheep,"  he 
reported. 

We  remembered  old  Naiokotuku's  promise  of 
sending  us  sheep,  sneered  cynically  at  the  faith  of 
savages,  and  grimly  set  forth  to  see  what  we  could 
buy  in  the  surrounding  country.  But  we  wronged 
the  old  man.  Less  than  a  mile  from  camp  we  met 
men  driving  in  as  presents  not  one,  but  two,  sheep. 
So  we  abandoned  our  shopping  tour  and  returned  to 
camp.  By  the  time  one  of  the  sheep  had  been  made 
into  mutton  it  was  too  late  to  start.  The  Masai 
showed  symptoms  of  desiring  to  go  back  to  the 
village  for  the  night.  This  did  not  please  us.  We 
called  them  up,  and  began  extravagantly  to  admire 
their  weapons,  begging  to  examine  them.  Once  we 
had  them  in  our  hands  we  craftily  discoursed  as 
follows: 

"These  are  beautiful  weapons,  the  most  beautiful 
we  have  ever  seen.  Since  you  are  going  to  spend 
the  night  in  our  camp,  and  since  we  greatly  fear 
that  some  of  our  men  might  steal  these  beautiful 
weapons,  we  will  ourselves  guard  them  for  you 
carefully  from  theft  until  morning." 

So  saying,  we  deposited  them  inside  the  tent. 
Then  we  knew  we  had  our  Masai  safe.  They  would 
never  dream  of  leaving  while  the  most  cherished  of 
their  possessions  were  in  hostage. 

335 


XLII 
SCOUTING  IN  THE  ELEPHANT   FOREST 

HERE  we  were  finally  ofi"  at  dawn.  It  was  a  very 
chilly,  wet  dawn,  with  the  fog  so  thick  that  we 
could  see  not  over  ten  feet  ahead.  We  had  four 
porters  carrying  about  twenty-five  pounds  apiece  of 
the  bare  necessities,  Kongoni,  and  Leyeye.  The 
Masai  struck  confidently  enough  through  the  mist. 
We  crossed  neck-deep  grass  flats  —  where  we  were 
thoroughly  soaked  —  climbed  hills  through  a  forest, 
skirted  apparently  for  miles  an  immense  reed 
swamp.  As  usual  when  travelling  strange  coun- 
try in  a  fog,  we  experienced  that  queer  feeling  of 
remaining  in  the  same  spot  while  fragments  of 
nearby  things  are  slowly  paraded  by.  When  at 
length  the  sun's  power  cleared  the  mists,  we  found 
ourselves  in  the  middle  of  a  forest  country  of  high 
hills. 

Into  this  forest  we  now  plunged,  threading  our 
way  here  and  there  where  the  animal  trails  would 
take  us,  looking  always  for  fresh  elephant  spoor. 
It  would  have  been  quite  impossible  to  have  moved 

336 


SCOUTING  IN  THE  ELEPHANT  FOREST 

about  In  any  other  fashion.  The  timber  grew  on 
side  hills,  and  was  very  lofty  and  Impressive;  and  the 
tropical  undergrowth  grew  tall,  rank  and  impene- 
trable. We  could  proceed  only  by  means  of  the 
kind  assistance  of  the  elephant,  the  buffalo  and  the 
rhinoceros. 

Elephant  spoor  we  found,  but  none  made  later 
than  three  weeks  before.  The  trails  were  broad, 
solid  paths  through  the  forest,  as  ancient  and  beaten 
as  though  they  had  been  in  continuous  use  for  years. 
Unlike  the  rhino  and  buffalo  trails,  they  gave  us 
head  room  and  to  spare.  The  great  creatures  had  by 
sheer  might  cut  their  way  through  the  dense,  tough 
growth,  leaving  twisted,  splintered,  wrecked  jungle, 
behind  them,  but  no  impediment. 

By  means  of  these  beautiful  trails  we  sneaked 
quietly,  penetrating  farther  and  farther  into  the 
jungle.  Our  little  procession  of  ten  made  no  noise. 
If  we  should  strike  fresh  elephant  tracks,  thus  would 
we  hunt  them,  with  all  our  worldly  goods  at  our 
backs,  so  that  at  night  we  could  camp  right  on  the 
trail. 

The  day  passed  almost  without  incident.  Once 
a  wild  crash  and  a  snort  told  of  a  rhinoceros,  in- 
visible, but  very  close.  We  huddled  together,  our 
rifles  ready,  uncertain  whether  or  not  the  animal 
would  burst  from  the  leafy  screen  at  our  very  faces. 

337 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

The  Masai  stood  side  by  side,  the  long  spear  poised, 
the  bow  bent,  fine,  tense  figures  in  bronze. 

Near  sundown  we  found  ourselves  by  a  swift  little 
stream  in  the  bottom  of  a  deep  ravine.  Here  we 
left  the  men  to  make  camp,  and  ourselves  climbed  a 
big  mountain  on  the  other  side.  It  gave  us  a  look 
abroad  over  a  wilderness  of  hills,  forested  heavily, 
and  a  glimpse  of  the  land-fall  far  away  where  no 
white  man  had  ever  been.  This  was  as  far  south  as 
we  were  destined  to  get,  though  at  the  time  we  did 
not  know  it.  Our  plan  was  to  push  on  two  days 
more.  Near  the  top  of  the  ridge  we  found  the 
unmistakable  tracks  of  the  bongo.  This  is  in- 
teresting to  zoologists  in  that  it  extends  the  south- 
ward range  of  this  rare  and  shy  beast. 

Just  at  dark  we  regained  our  camp.  It  was  built 
California  fashion  —  for  the  first  and  last  time  in 
Africa:  blankets  spread  on  canvas  under  the  open  sky 
and  a  gipsy  fire  at  our  feet,  over  which  I  myself 
cooked  our  very  simple  meal.  As  we  were  smoking 
our  pipes  in  sleepy  content,  Leyeye  and  the  two 
Masai  appeared  for  a  shauri.     Said  the  Masai: 

"We  have  taken  you  over  the  country  we  know. 
There  are  elephants  there  sometimes,  but  there  are 
no  elephants  there  now.  We  can  take  you  farther, 
and  if  you  wish  us  to  do  so,  we  will  do  so;  but  we 
know  no  more  of  the  country  than  you  do.     But 

338 


SCOUTING  IN  THE  ELEPHANT  FOREST 

now  if  we  return  to  the  manyatta  to-morrow,  we  can 
march  two  hours  to  where  are  some  Wanderobo; 
and  the  Wanderobo  know  this  country  and  will  take 
you  through  it.  If  it  pleases  you,  one  of  us  will  go 
get  the  Wanderobo,  and  the  other  will  stay  with  you 
to  show  good  faith." 

We  rolled  our  eyes  at  each  other  in  humorous 
despair.  Here  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  recon- 
naissance we  had  run  against  the  stone  wall  of 
African  indirectness  and  procrastination.  And 
just  as  we  thought  we  had  at  last  settled  every- 
thing! 

"Why,"  we  inquired,  "were  not  the  Wanderobo 
sent  at  first,  instead  of  yourselves?" 

"Because,"  they  replied  with  truly  engaging 
frankness,  "our  chief,  Naiokotuku,  thought  that 
perhaps  we  might  find  elephant  here  in  the  country 
we  know;  and  then  we  should  get  for  ourselves  all  the 
presents  you  would  give  for  finding  elephant.  But 
the  elephant  are  not  here  now;  so  the  Wanderobo 
will  get  part  of  the  present." 

That  was  certainly  candid.  After  some  further 
talk  we  decided  there  was  no  help  for  it;  we  must 
return  to  camp  for  a  new  start. 

At  this  decision  the  Masai  brightened.  They 
volunteered  to  set  off  early  with  Leyeye,  to  push 
ahead  of  us  rapidly,  and  to  have  the  Wanderobo  in 

339 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

camp  by  the  time  we  reached  there.  We  concealed 
somewhat  cynical  smiles,  and  agreed. 

The  early  start  was  made,  but  when  we  reached 
camp  we  found,  not  the  Wanderobo,  but  Leyeye  and 
the  Masai  huddled  over  a  fire.  This  was  exasperat- 
ing, but  we  could  not  say  much.  After  all,  the  whole 
matter  was  no  right  of  ours,  but  a  manifestation  of 
friendship  on  the  part  of  Naiokotuku.  In  the  early 
afternoon  the  sky  cleared,  and  the  ambassadors  de- 
parted, promising  faithfully  to  be  back  before  we 
slept.  We  spent  the  day  writing  and  in  gazing  at 
the  vivid  view  of  the  side  hill,  the  forest,  and  the 
distant  miniature  prospect  before  us.  Finally  we 
discovered  what  made  it  in  essence  so  strangely 
familiar.  In  vividness  and  clarity,  even  in  the 
crudity  of  its  tones,  it  was  exactly  like  a  coloured 
photograph ! 

Of  course  the  savages  did  not  return  that  evening, 
nor  did  we  really  expect  them.  Just  as  a  matter  of 
form  we  packed  up  the  next  morning,  and  sat  down 
to  wait.  Shortly  before  noon  Leyeye  and  the  Masai 
returned,  bringing  with  them  two  of  the  strange,  shy, 
forest  hunters. 

But  by  this  time  we  had  talked  things  over 
thoroughly.  The  lure  of  the  greater  kudu  was  re- 
gaining the  strength  it  had  lost  by  a  long  series  of 
disappointments.     We  had  not  time  left  for  both 

340 


w 


a 

B 
o 


G 
O 
U 


SCOUTING  IN  THE  ELEPHANT  FOREST 

a  thorough  investigation  of  the  forests  and  a  raid 
in  the  dry  hills  of  the  west  after  kudu.  Mavrouki 
said  he  knew  of  a  place  where  that  animal  ranged. 
So  we  had  come  to  a  decision. 

We  called  the  Masai  and  Wanderobo  before  us. 
They  squatted  in  a  row,  their  spears  planted  before 
them.  We  sat  in  canvas  chairs.  Leyeye,  standing, 
translated.  The  affair  was  naturally  of  the  great- 
est deliberation.  In  the  indirect  African  manner  we 
began  our  shauri. 

We  asked  one  simple  question  at  a  time,  dealing 
with  one  simple  phase  of  the  subject.  This  phase 
we  treated  from  several  different  points  of  view,  in 
order  to  be  absolutely  certain  that  it  was  understood. 
To  these  questions  we  received  replies  in  this 
manner: 

Yes,  the  Wanderobo  told  us,  they  knew  the  forest; 
they  knew  how  to  go  about  in  the  forest;  they 
understood  how  to  find  their  way  in  the  forest. 
They  knew  the  elephant;  they  had  seen  the  elephant 
many  times  in  the  forest;  they  knew  where  the 
elephant  ranged  in  the  forest  —  and  so  on  through 
every  piece  of  information  we  desired.  It  is  the 
usual  and  only  sure  way  of  questioning  natives. 

Thus  we  learned  that  the  elephant  range  extended 
south  through  the  forests  for  about  seven  days' 
travel;  that  at  this  time  of  year  the  beasts  might  be 

341 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

anywhere  on  that  range.  This  confirmed  our  de- 
cision.    Then  said  we  to  Leyeye: 

"Tell  the  Masai  that  the  hwana  rtCkuhwa  is  most 
pleased  with  them,  and  that  he  is  pleased  with  the 
way  they  have  worked  for  him,  and  that  he  is  pleased 
with  the  presents  they  have  brought  him.  Tell  them 
that  he  has  no  goods  here  with  him,  but  that  he  has 
sent  men  back  to  the  boma  of  bwana  Kingozi*  for 
blankets  and  wire  and  cloth,  and  when  those  men 
return  he  will  make  a  good  present  to  these  Masai 
and  to  Naiokotuku,  their  chief. 

"Tell  the  Wanderobo  that  the  hwana  rrCkuhwa  is 
pleased  with  them,  and  that  he  thanks  them  for 
coming  so  far  to  tell  him  of  the  elephant,  and  that  he 
believes  they  have  told  him  the  truth.  Tell  them 
the  hwana  nCkuhwa  will  not  fight  the  elephant  now, 
because  he  has  not  the  time,  but  must  go  to  attend 
to  his  affairs.  But  later,  when  two  years  have  gone, 
he  will  make  another  safari,  and  will  come  back 
to  this  country,  and  will  again  ask  these  men  to  lead 
him  out  where  he  can  fight  the  elephant.  And  in 
the  meantime  he  will  give  them  rupees  with  which 
to  pay  their  hut  tax  to  the  Government." 

After  various  compliments  the  sitting  rose.  Then 
we  packed  up  for  a  few  hours'  march.  In  a  short 
time  we  passed  the  chief's  village.     He  came  out  to 

*V.'s  native  name  —  the  Master  with  the  Red  Beard. 

342 


SCOUTING  IN  THE  ELEPHANT  FOREST 

say  good-bye.  A  copper  bronze  youth  accompanied 
him,  lithe  as  a  leopard. 

"My  men  have  told  me  your  words,"  said  he. 
"I  live  always  in  these  mountains,  and  my  young 
men  will  bring  me  word  when  you  return.  I  am 
glad  the  white  men  have  come  to  see  me.  I  shall 
have  the  Wanderobo  ready  to  take  you  to  fight  the 
elephant  when  you  return." 

He  then  instructed  the  young  man  to  accompany 
us  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  back  the  presents  we 
had  promised.  We  shook  hands  in  farewell,  and  so 
parted  from  this  friendly  and  powerful  chief. 


343 


XLIII 
THE  TOPI  CAMP 

AT  the  next  camp  we  stayed  for  nearly  a  week. 
The  country  was  charming.  Mountains  sur- 
rounded the  long  ellipse,  near  one  edge  of  which  we 
had  pitched  our  tents.  The  ellipse  was  some  ten 
miles  long  by  four  or  five  wide,  and  its  surface  rolled 
in  easy  billows  to  a  narrow  neck  at  the  lower  end. 
There  we  could  just  make  out  in  the  far  distance  a 
conical  hill  partly  closing  the  neck.  Atop  the  hill 
was  a  Masai  manyattaj  very  tiny,  with  indistinct 
crawling  red  and  brown  blotches  that  meant  cattle 
and  sheep.  Beyond  the  hill,  and  through  the 
opening  in  the  ellipse,  we  could  see  to  another  new 
country  of  hills  and  meadows  and  forest  groves.  In 
this  clear  air  they  were  microscopically  distinct.  No 
blue  of  atmosphere  nor  shimmer  of  heat  blurred 
their  outlines.     They  were  merely  made  small. 

Our  camp  was  made  in  the  open  above  a  tiny 
stream.  We  saw  wonderful  sunrises  and  sunsets; 
and  always  spread  out  before  us  was  the  sweep  of 
our  plains  and  the  unbroken  ramparts  that  hemmed 

344 


THE  TOPI  CAMP 

us  in.  From  these  mountains  meandered  small 
stream-ways  marked  by  narrow  strips  of  trees  and 
brush;  but  the  most  of  the  valley  was  of  high  green 
grass.  Occasional  ant-hills  ten  feet  tall  rose  conical 
from  the  earth;  and  the  country  was  pleasingly 
broken  and  modelled,  so  that  one  continually  sur- 
mounted knolls,  low,  round  ridges,  and  the  like.  Of 
such  conditions  are  surprises  made. 

The  elevation  here  was  some  7,000  feet;  so  that 
the  nights  were  cold  and  the  days  not  too  warm. 
Our  men  did  not  fancy  this  change  of  weather.  A 
good  many  of  them  came  down  with  the  fever  always 
latent  in  their  systems,  and  others  suffered  with 
bronchial  colds. 

At  onetime  we  had  down  sick  eleven  men  out  of 
our  slender  total.  However,  I  believe  in  spite  of 
these  surface  symptoms,  that  the  cold  air  did  them 
good.  It  certainly  improved  our  own  appetites  and 
staying  power. 

In  the  thirty  or  forty  square  miles  of  our  valley 
were  many  herds  of  varied  game.  We  here,  for  the 
first  time,  found  the  Neuman's  hartebeeste.  The 
type  at  Narossara,  and  even  in  Lengetoto,  was  the 
common  Coke's  hartebeeste,  so  that  between  these 
closely  allied  species  there  interposes  at  this  point 
only  the  barriers  of  a  climb  and  a  forest.  These 
animals  and  the  zebra  were  the  most  plentiful  of  the 

34S 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

game.  The  zebra  were  brilliantly  white  and  black, 
with  magnificent  coats.  Thompson's  and  Roberts' 
gazelles  were  here  in  considerable  numbers,  eland, 
Roosevelt's  wildebeeste,  giraffe,  the  smaller  grass 
antelopes,  and  a  fair  number  of  topi.  In  the  hills  we 
saw  buffalo  signs,  several  cheetah,  and  heard  many 
lions. 

It  had  been  our  first  plan  that  C.  should  return 
immediately  to  V.'s  boma  after  supplies,  but  in  view 
of  the  abundance  of  game  we  decided  to  wait  over  a 
day.  We  much  desired  to  get  four  topi;  and  this 
seemed  a  good  chance  to  carry  some  of  them  out. 
Also  we  wished  to  decide  for  certain  whether  or 
not  the  hartebeeste  here  was  really  of  the  Neuman 
variety. 

We  had  great  luck.  Over  the  very  first  hill  from 
camp  we  came  upon  a  herd  of  about  a  dozen  topi, 
feeding  on  a  hill  across  the  way.  I  knocked  down 
the  first  one  standing  at  just  250  paces.  The  herd 
then  split  and  broke  to  right  and  left.  By  shooting 
very  carefully  and  steadily  I  managed  to  kill  three 
more  before  they  were  out  of  range.  The  last  shot 
was  at  325  paces.  In  all  I  fired  seven  shots,  and  hit 
six  times.  This  was  the  best  shooting  I  did  in 
Africa  —  or  anywhere  else  — and  is  a  first-rate  argu- 
ment for  the  Springfield  and  the  high  velocity,  sharp- 
pointed  bullet. 

346 


THE  TOPI  CAMP 

Overjoyed  at  our  luck  in  collecting  these  animals 
so  promptly,  so  near  camp,  and  at  a  time  so  very  pro- 
pitious for  handling  the  trophies,  we  set  to  the  job  of 
skinning  and  cutting  up.  The  able-bodied  men  all 
came  out  from  camp  to  carry  in  the  meat.  They 
appeared  grinning  broadly,  for  they  had  had  no  meat 
since  leaving  the  Narossara.  Cuninghame  and  I  saw 
matters  well  under  way,  and  then  went  on  to  where  I 
had  seen  a  cheetah  the  day  before.  Hardly  were  we 
out  of  sight  when  two  lions  sauntered  over  the  hill 
and  proceeded  to  appropriate  the  meat!  The  two 
men  in  charge  promptly  withdrew.  A  moment  later 
a  dozen  porters  on  their  way  out  from  camp  topped 
the  hill  and  began  to  yell  at  the  lions.  The  latter 
then  slowly  and  reluctantly  retreated. 

We  were  very  sorry  we  had  not  stayed.  The  valley 
seemed  populated  with  lions,  but  in  general  they 
were,  for  some  reason,  strictly  nocturnal.  Daytimes 
they  inhabited  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountain  ranges. 
We  never  succeeded  in  tracing  them  in  that  large  and 
labyrinthine  country;  nor  at  any  time  could  we 
induce  them  to  come  to  kills.  Either  their  natural 
prey  was  so  abundant  that  they  did  not  fancy  ready- 
killed  food;  for,  what  is  more  likely,  the  cold  nights 
prevented  the  odour  of  the  carcasses  from  carrying 
far.  We  heard  lions  every  night;  and  every  morning 
we  conscientiously  turned  out  before  daybreak  to 

347 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

crawl  up  to  our  bait  through  the  wet,  cold  grass,  but 
with  no  results.  That  very  night  we  were  jerked 
from  a  sound  sleep  by  a  tremendous  roar  almost  in 
camp.  So  close  was  it  that  it  seemed  to  each  of 
us  but  just  outside  the  tent.  We  came  up  all  stand- 
ing. The  lion,  apparently,  was  content  with  that 
practical  joke,  for  he  moved  off  quietly.  Next 
morning  we  found  where  the  tracks  had  led  down  to 
water,  not  ten  yards  away. 

We  spent  the  rest  of  that  day  spying  on  the  game 
herds.  It  is  fascinating  work,  to  lie  belly  down  on  a 
tall  ant-hill,  glasses  steadied  by  elbows,  picking  out 
the  individual  animals  and  discussing  them  low- 
voiced  with  a  good  companion.  Cuninghame  and  I 
looked  over  several  hundred  hartebeeste,  trying  to 
decide  their  identity.  We  were  neither  of  us  familiar 
with  the  animal  and  had  onlyrecollections  of  the  book 
distinctions.  Finally  I  picked  out  one  that  seemed 
to  present  the  most  marked  characteristics  —  and 
missed  him  clean  at  280  yards.  Then  I  took  three 
shots  at  180  yards  to  down  a  second  choice.  The 
poor  shooting  was  forgotten,  however,  in  our  deter- 
mination that  this  was  indeed  Neumanii. 

A  vain  hunt  for  lions  occupied  all  the  next  day. 
The  third  morning  Cuninghame  started  for  the  boma, 
leaving  Billy  and  me  to  look  about  us  as  we  willed. 
Shortly  after  he  had  departed  a  delegation  of  Masai 

348 


"I  offered  a  half  rupee  as  a  prize  for  an  archery  competition" 


Naiokotuku  and  one  of  his  sons 


THE  TOPI  CAMP 

came  in,  dressed  in  their  best,  and  bearing  presents 
of  milk.     Leyeye  was  summoned  as  interpreter. 

The  Masai  informed  us  that  last  night  a  lion  had 
leaped  the  thorn  walls  of  their  boma,  had  pressed 
on  through  the  fires,  had  seized  a  two-year-old  steer, 
and  had  dragged  the  beast  outside.  Then  the  pur- 
suit with  spears  and  firebrands  had  become  too  hot 
for  him,  so  that  he  had  dropped  his  victim  and  re- 
tired. They  desired  (a)  medicine  for  the  steer,  (b) 
magic  to  keep  that  lion  away,  (c)  that  I  should  assist 
them  in  hunting  the  lion  down. 

I  questioned  them  closely,  and  soon  discovered 
both  that  the  lion  must  have  been  very  bold,  and 
also  that  he  had  received  a  pretty  lively  reception. 
Magic  to  keep  him  away  seemed  like  a  safe  enough 
proposition;  for  the  chances  were  he  would  keep 
himself  away. 

Therefore  I  filled  a  quart  measure  with  clear  water, 
passed  my  hand  across  its  untroubled  surface  —  and 
lo!  it  turned  a  clear  bright  pink! 

Long-drawn  exclamations  of  "Eigh!  "Eighl" 
greeted  this  magic,  performed  by  means  of  per- 
manganate crystals  held  between  the  fingers. 

"With  this  bathe  the  wounds  of  your  steer.  Then 
sprinkle  the  remainder  over  your  cattle.  The  lion 
will  not  return,"  said  I.  Then  reflecting  that  I  was 
to  be  some  time  in  the  country,  and  that  the  lion 

349 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

might  get  over  his  scare,  I  added:  "The  power  of 
this  magic  is  three  days." 

They  departed  very  much  impressed.  A  little 
later  Memba  Sasa  and  I  followed  them.  The 
manyatta  was  most  picturesquely  placed  atop  the 
conical  hill  at  the  foot  of  the  valley.  From  its  eleva- 
tion we  could  see  here  and  there  in  the  distance  the 
variegated  blotches  of  red  and  white  and  black  that 
represented  the  cattle  herds.  Innumerable  flocks  of 
sheep  and  goats,  under  charge  of  the  small  boys  and 
youths,  fed  nearer  at  hand.  The  low  smooth-plas- 
tered huts,  with  their  abattis  of  thorn  bush  between, 
crowned  the  peak  like  a  chaplet.  Outside  it  sat 
a  number  of  elders  sunning  themselves,  and  several 
smiling,  good-natured  young  women,  probably  the 
spoiled  darlings  of  these  plutocrats.  One  of  these 
damsels  spoke  Swahili,  so  we  managed  to  exchange 
compliments.  They  told  us  exactly  when  and  how 
the  lion  had  gone.  Three  nimble  old  gentlemen 
accompanied  us  when  we  left.  They  were  armed 
with  spears;  and  they  displayed  the  most  extra- 
ordinary activity,  skipping  here  and  there  across 
the  ravines  and  through  the  brush,  casting  huge 
stones  into  likely  cover,  and  generally  making 
themselves  ubiquitous.  However,  we  did  not  come 
up  with  the  lion. 

In  our  clinic  that  evening  appeared  one  of  the 

3SO 


THE  TOPI  CAMP 

men  claiming  to  suffer  from  rheumatism.  I  sus- 
pected him,  and  still  suspect  him,  of  malingering  in 
advance  in  order  to  get  out  of  the  hard  work  we  must 
soon  undertake — but  had  no  means  of  proving  my 
suspicion.  However,  I  decided  to  administer  asperin. 
We  possessed  only  the  powdered  form  of  the  drug. 
I  dumped  about  five  grains  on  his  tongue,  and  was 
about  to  proffer  him  the  water  with  which  to  wash 
it  down  — when  he  inhaled  sharply!  I  do  not  know 
the  precise  effect  of  asperin  in  the  windpipe,  but  it 
is  not  pleasant.  The  boy  thought  himself  bewitched. 
His  eyes  stuck  out  of  his  head;  he  gasped  painfully; 
he  sank  to  the  ground;  he  made  desperate  efforts 
to  bolt  out  into  the  brush.  By  main  strength  we  re- 
strained him,  and  forced  him  to  swallow  the  water. 
Little  by  little  he  recovered.  Next  night  I  missed 
him  from  the  clinic,  and  sent  Abba  AH  in  search. 
The  man  assured  Abba  Ali  most  vehemently  that 
the  medicine  was  wonderful,  that  every  trace  of 
rheumatism  had  departed,  that  he  never  felt  better 
in  his  life,  and  that  (important  point)  he  was  per- 
fectly able  to  carry  a  load  on  the  morrow. 


3SI 


XLIV 
THE  UNKNOWN  LAND 

CUNINGHAME  returned  the  next  day  from 
V.'s,  bringing  more  potio  and  some  trade 
goods.  We  sent  a  good  present  back  to  Naiokotuku, 
and  prepared  for  an  early  start  into  the  new  country. 
We  marched  out  the  lower  end  of  our  elliptical 
valley  toward  the  miniature  landscape  we  had  seen 
through  the  opening.  But  before  we  reached  it  we 
climbed  sharp  to  the  right  around  the  end  of  the 
mountains,  made  our  way  through  a  low  pass,  and 
so  found  ourselves  in  a  new  country  entirely.  The 
smooth,  undulating  green-grass  plains  were  now 
superseded  by  lava  expanses  grown  with  low  bushes. 
It  was  almost  exactly  like  the  sage-brush  deserts  of 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico;  the  same  coarse  sand 
and  lava  footing,  the  same  deeply  eroded  barrancas, 
the  same  scattered  round  bushes  dotted  evenly  over 
the  scene.  We  saw  here  very  little  game.  Across 
the  way  lay  another  range  of  low  mountains  clothed 
darkly  with  dull  green,  like  the  chaparral-covered 
coast  ranges  of  California.     In  one  place  was  a  gun- 

352 


w  ' 


Our  southernmost  camp.     From  this  point  we  turned  back 


■^ 

i 

1 

'   :^ 

H 

■ 

■H 

|Jl 

^ 

!! 

IHHHMHIH 

Rl. 

»^     * 

? 

"We  called  the  Masai  and  Wanderobo  before  us" 


b,^ 


-^^■r^-^/^'fev-.X^ 


A  present  from  Naiokotuku 


THE  UNKNOWN  LAND 

sight  pass  through  which  we  could  see  other  distant 
blue  mountains.  We  crossed  the  arid  plain  and 
toiled  up  through  the  notch  pass. 

The  latter  made  very  difficult  footing  indeed,  for 
the  entire  surface  of  the  ground  was  covered  with 
smooth,  slippery  boulders  and  rocks  of  iron  and 
quartz.  What  had  so  smoc  ched  them  I  do  not 
know;  for  they  seemed  to  be  ill-placed  for  water 
erosion.  The  boys  with  their  packs  atop  found  this 
hard  going;  and  we  ourselves  slipped  and  slid  and 
bumped  in  spite  of  our  caution. 

Once  through  the  pass  we  found  ourselves  over- 
looking a  wide  prospect  of  undulating  thorn  scrub 
from  which  rose  occasional  bushy  hills,  solitary 
buttes,  and  bold  cliffs.  It  was  a  thick-looking 
country  to  make  a  way  through. 

Nevertheless  somewhere  here  dwelt  the  kudu,  so 
in  we  plunged.  The  rest  of  the  day  —  and  of  days 
to  follow  —  we  spent  in  picking  a  way  through  the 
thorn  scrub  and  over  loose  rocks  and  shifting  stones. 
A  stream  bed  contained  an  occasional  water  hole. 
Tall  aloes  were  ablaze  with  red  flowers.  The 
country  looked  arid,  the  air  felt  dry,  the  atmosphere 
was  so  clear  that  a  day's  journey  became — visu- 
ally—  but  the  matter  of  a  few  hours.  Only  rarely  did 
we  enjoy  a  few  moments  of  open  travel.  Most  of 
the  time  the  thorns  caught  at  us.     In  the  mountain 

353 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

passes  were  sometimes  broad  trails  of  game  or  of  the 
Masai  cattle.  The  country  was  harsh  and  dry  and 
beautiful  with  the  grays  and  dull  greens  of  arid-land 
brush,  or  with  the  soft  atmospheric  tints  of  arid- 
land  distances.  Game  was  fairly  common,  but 
rather  difficult  to  find.  There  were  many  buifalo, 
a  very  few  zebra,  leopards,  hyenas,  plenty  of  impalla, 
some  sing-sing,  a  few  eland,  abundant  warthog, 
Thompson's  gazelle,  and  duiker.  We  never  lacked 
for  meat  when  we  dared  shoot  it,  but  we  were  after 
nobler  game.  The  sheep  given  us  by  Naiokotuku 
followed  along  under  charge  of  the  syces. 

When  we  should  have  run  quite  out  of  meat,  we  in- 
tended to  eat  them.  We  delayed  too  long,  however. 
One  evening  the  fool  boy  tied  them  to  a  thorn  bush; 
one  of  them  pulled  back,  the  thorns  bit,  and  both 
broke  loose  and  departed  into  the  darkness.  Of 
course  everybody  pursued,  but  we  could  not  re- 
capture them.  Ten  minutes  later  the  hyenas  broke 
into  the  most  unholy  laughter.  We  could  not  blame 
them;  the  joke  was  certainly  on  us. 

In  passing,  the  cachinnations  of  the  laughing 
hyena  are  rather  a  series  of  high-voiced,  self-con- 
scious titters  than  laughter.  They  sound  like  the 
stage  idea  of  a  lot  of  silly  and  rather  embarrassed  old 
maids  who  have  been  accused  by  some  rude  man  of 
"taking  notice."     This  call  is  rarely  used;  indeed, 

354 


THE  UNKNOWN  LAND 

I  never  heard  it  but  the  once.  The  usual  note  Is 
a  sort  of  moaning  howl,  impossible  to  describe  but 
easy  to  recognize. 

Thus  we  penetrated  gradually  deeper  and  deeper 
into  this  wild  country;  through  low  mountains,  over 
bush-clad  plains,  into  thorn  jungles,  down  wide 
valleys,  over  hill-divided  plateaus.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  we  would  make  camp .  Sometimes  we 
had  good  water;  more  often  not.  In  the  evening 
the  throb  of  distant  drums  and  snatches  of  inter- 
mittent wailing  song  rose  and  fell  with  the  little 
night  breezes. 


355 


XLV 
THE  ROAN 

OUR  last  camp,  before  turning  back,  we  pitched 
about  two  o'clock  of  one  afternoon.  Up  to  this 
time  we  had  marched  steadily  down  wide  valleys, 
around  the  end  of  mountain  ranges,  moving  from 
one  room  to  the  other  of  this  hill-divided  plateau. 
At  last  we  ended  on  a  slope  that  descended  gently 
to  water.  It  was  grown  sparingly  with  thorn  trees, 
among  which  we  raised  our  tents.  Over  against  us, 
and  across  several  low  swells  of  grass  and  scrub- 
grown  hills,  was  a  range  of  mountains.  Here, 
Mavrouki  claimed,  dwelt  roan  antelope. 

We  settled  down  quite  happily.  The  country 
round  about  was  full  of  game;  the  weather  was  cool, 
the  wide  swoops  of  country,  the  upward  fling  of 
mountains  and  buttes  were  much  like  some  parts  of 
our  great  West.  Almost  every  evening  the  thunder 
storms  made  gorgeous  piled  effects  in  the  distance. 
At  night  the  lions  and  hyenas  roared  or  howled,  and 
some  of  the  tiny  fever  owls  impudently  answered 
them  back. 

356 


THE  ROAN 

Various  adventures  came  our  way,  some  of  which 
have  been  elsewhere  narrated.  Here  we  killed  the 
very  big  buffalo  that  nearly  got  Billy.*  In  addition 
we  collected  two  more  specimens  of  the  Neuman's 
hartebeeste,  and  two  Chanler's  reed  buck. 

But  Mavrouki's  glowing  predictions  as  to  roan 
were  hardly  borne  out  by  facts.  According  to  him 
the  mountains  sim.ply  swarmed  with  them  —  he  had 
seen  thirty-five  in  one  day,  etc.  Of  course  we  had 
discounted  this,  but  some  old  tracks  had  to  a  certain 
extent  borne  out  his  statement. 

Lunch  time  one  day,  however,  found  us  on  top  of 
the  highest  ridge.  Here  we  hunted  up  a  bit  of  shade, 
and  spent  two  hours  out  of  the  noon  sun.  While  we 
lay  there  the  sky  slowly  overcast,  so  that  when  we 
aroused  ourselves  to  go  on,  the  dazzling  light  had 
softened.  As  time  was  getting  short,  we  decided  to 
separate.  Memba  Sasa  and  Mavrouki  were  to  go 
in  one  direction,  while  Cuninghame,  Kongoni  and 
I  took  the  other.  Before  we  started  I  remarked 
that  I  was  offering  two  rupees  for  the  capture  of  a 
roan. 

We  had  not  gone  ten  minutes  when  Kongoni 
turned  his  head  cautiously  and  grinned  back 
at  us. 

"My  rupees,"  said  he. 

*"The  Land  of  Footprints." 

357 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

A  fine  buck  roan  stood  motionless  beneath  a  tree 
in  the  valley  below  us.  He  was  on  the  other  side 
of  the  stream  jungle,  and  nearly  a  mile  away. 
While  we  watched  him,  he  lay  down. 

Our  task  now  was  to  gain  the  shelter  of  the  stream- 
jungle  below  without  being  seen,  to  slip  along  it 
until  opposite  the  roan,  and  then  to  penetrate  the 
river  jungle  near  enough  to  get  a  shot.  The 
first  part  of  this  contract  seemed  to  us  the  most 
difficult,  for  we  were  forced  to  descend  the  face  of 
the  hill,  like  flies  crawling  down  a  blackboard, 
plain  for  him  to  see. 

We  slid  cautiously  from  bush  to  bush;  we  moved 
by  imperceptible  inches  across  the  too  numerous  open 
paces.  About  halfway  down  we  were  arrested  by  a 
violent  snort  ahead.  Fifteen  or  twenty  zebra 
nooning  in  the  brush  where  no  zebra  were  supposed 
to  be,  clattered  down  the  hill  like  an  avalanche.  We 
froze  where  we  were.  The  beasts  ran  fifty  yards, 
then  wheeled,  and  stared  back  up  the  hill,  trying  to 
make  us  out.  For  twenty  minutes  all  parties  to 
the  transaction  remained  stock  still,  the  zebra 
staring,  we  hoping  fervently  they  would  decide  to 
go  down  the  valley  and  not  up  it,  the  roan  doz- 
ing under  his  distant  tree. 

By  luck  our  hopes  were  fulfilled.  The  zebra 
turned    down    stream,    walking    sedately    away    in 

3S8 


THE  ROAN 

single  file.  When  we  were  certain  they  had  all  quite 
gone,  we  resumed  our  painful  decsent. 

At  length  we  dropped  below  the  screen  of  trees,  and 
could  stand  upright  and  straighten  the  kinks  out  of  our 
backs.  But  now  a  new  complication  arose.  The  wind, 
which  had  been  the  very  basis  of  our  calculations, 
commenced  to  chop  and  veer.  Here  It  blew  from 
one  quarter,  up  there  on  the  side  hill  from  another, 
and  through  the  bushes  In  quite  another  direction 
still.  Then  without  warning  they  would  all  shift 
about.  We  watched  the  tops  of  the  grasses  through 
our  binoculars,  hoping  to  read  some  logic  into  the 
condition.  It  was  now  four  o'clock  —  our  stalk 
had  thus  far  consumed  two  hours  —  and  the  roan 
must  soon  begin  to  feed.  If  we  were  going  to  do 
anything,  we  must  do  It  soon. 

Therefore  we  crept  through  a  very  spiky,  noisy 
jungle  to  its  other  edge,  sneaked  along  the  edge  until 
we  could  make  out  the  tree,  and  raised  ourselves  for 
a  look.  Through  the  glass  I  could  just  make  out 
the  roan's  face  stripe.     He  was  still  there! 

Quite  encouraged  I  instantly  dropped  down  and 
crawled  to  within  range.  When  again  I  raised  my 
head  the  roan  had  disappeared.  One  of  those 
aggravating  little  side  puffs  of  breeze  had  destroyed 
our  two  hours'  work. 

The  outlook  was  not  particularly  encouraging. 
359 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

We  had  no  means  of  telling  how  far  the  animal 
would  go,  nor  into  what  sort  of  country;  and  the 
hour  was  well  advanced  toward  sunset.  However, 
we  took  up  the  track  and  proceeded  to  follow  it  as 
well  as  we  could.  That  was  not  easy,  for  the  ground 
was  hard  and  stony.  Suddenly  Cuninghame  threw 
himself  flat.  Of  course  we  followed  his  example. 
To  us  he  whispered  that  he  thought  he  had  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  animal  through  an  opening  and  across 
the  stream  bed.  We  stalked  carefully;  and  found 
ourselves  in  the  middle  of  a  small  herd  of  topis,  one 
of  which,  half  concealed  in  the  brush,  had  deceived 
Cuninghame.  This  consumed  valuable  time.  When 
again  we  had  picked  up  the  spoor  it  was  agreed  that 
I  was  to  still-hunt  ahead  as  rapidly  as  I  could,  while 
Cuninghame  and  Kongoni  would  puzzle  out  the 
tracks  as  far  as  possible  before  dark. 

Therefore  I  climbed  the  little  rocky  ridge  on  our 
left,  and  walked  along  near  its  crest,  keeping  a 
sharp  lookout  over  the  valley  below;  much  as  one 
would  hunt  August  bucks  in  California.  After  two 
or  three  hundred  yards  I  chanced  on  a  short  strip 
of  soft  earth  in  which  the  fresh  tracks  of  the  roan 
going  up  hill  were  clearly  imprinted.  I  could  not 
without  making  too  much  noise  inform  the  others 
that  I  had  cut  in  ahead  of  them;  so  I  followed  the 
tracks  as  cautiously  and  quietly  as  I  could.     On  the 

360 


be 


-i4 


THE  ROAN 

very  top  of  the  hill  the  roan  leaped  from  cover  fifty- 
yards  away,  and  with  a  clatter  of  rocks  dashed  off 
down  the  ridge.  The  grass  was  very  high,  and  I 
could  see  only  his  head  and  horns,  but  I  dropped  the 
front  sight  six  inches  and  let  drive  at  a  guess.  The 
guess  happened  to  be  a  good  one,  for  he  turned  a 
summersault  seventy  two  yards  away. 

Cuninghame  and  Kongoni  came  up.  The  sun  had 
just  set.  In  fifteen  minutes  it  would  be  pitch  dark. 
We  despatched  Kongoni  for  help  and  lanterns;  and 
turned  to  on  the  job  of  building  a  signal  fire  and 
skinning  the  trophy. 

The  reason  for  our  strangely  chopping  wind  now 
became  apparent.  From  our  elevation  we  could 
see  piled  thunder  clouds  looming  up  from  the  west. 
They  were  spreading  upward  and  outward  in  the 
swift,  rushing  manner  of  tropic  storms ;  and  I  saw  I 
must  hustle  if  I  was  to  get  my  fire  going  at  all.  The 
first  little  blaze  was  easy;  and  after  that  I  had  to  pile 
on  quantities  of  any  wood  I  could  lay  my  hands  to. 
The  deluge  blotted  out  every  vestige  of  daylight  and 
nearly  drowned  out  my  fire.  I  had  started  to  help 
Cuninghame  with  the  roan,  but  soon  found  that  I 
had  my  own  job  cut  out  for  me,  and  so  went  back  to 
nursing  my  blaze.  The  water  descended  in  sheets. 
We  were  immediately  soaked  through,  and  very  cold. 
The  surface  of  the  ground  was  steep  and  covered 

361 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

with  loose  round  rocks;  and  In  my  continuous  trips 
for  firewood  I  stumbled  and  slipped  and  ran  into 
thorns  miserably.* 

After  a  long  interval  of  this  the  lanterns  came 
bobbing  through  the  darkness,  and  a  few  moments 
later  the  dim  light  revealed  the  shining,  rain-soaked 
faces  of  our  men. 

We  wasted  no  time  in  the  distributions  of  burdens. 
Cuninghame  with  one  of  the  lanterns  brought  up  the 
rear,  while  I  with  the  other  went  on  ahead. 

Now  as  Kongoni  had  but  this  minute  completed 
the  round  trip  to  camp  we  concluded  that  he  would 
be  the  best  one  to  give  us  a  lead.  This  was  a  mistake. 
He  took  us  out  of  the  hills  well  enough,  and  a  good 
job  that  was,  for  we  could  not  see  the  length  of  our 
arms  Into  the  thick,  rainy  blackness,  and  we  had  to 
go  entirely  by  the  slants  of  the  country.  But  once  in 
the  more  open,  sloping  country,  with  its  innumerable 
bushy  or  wooded  ravines,  he  began  to  stray.  I  felt 
this  from  the  first;  but  Kongoni  insisted  strongly  he 
was  right,  and  in  the  rain  and  darkness  we  had  no 
way  of  proving  him  wrong.  In  fact  I  had  no  reason 
for  thinking  him  wrong,  I  only  felt  It.  This  sense 
of  direction  is  apparently  a  fifth  wheel  or  extra 
adjustment  some  people  happen  to  possess.     It  has 

*Six  months  after  I  had  reached  home  one  of  these  thorns  worked  its  way 
out  of  the  calf  of  my  leg. 

362 


THE  ROAN 

nothing  to  do  with  acquired  knowledge,  as  is  very 
well  proved  by  the  fact  that  in  my  own  case  it  acts 
only  as  long  as  I  do  not  think  about  it.  As  soon  as  I 
begin  consciously  to  consider  the  matter  I  am  likely 
to  go  wrong.  Thus  many,  many  times  I  have  back- 
tracked in  the  dark  over  ground  I  had  traversed  but 
once  before,  and  have  caught  myself  turning  out  for 
bushes  or  trees  I  could  not  see,  but  which  my  sub- 
conscious memory  recalled.  This  would  happen 
only  when  I  would  think  of  something  beside  the  way 
home.  As  soon  as  I  took  charge,  I  groped  as  badly 
as  the  next  man.  It  is  a  curious,  and  sometimes 
valuable  extra;  but  by  no  means  to  be  depended 
upon. 

Now,  however,  as  I  was  following  Kongoni,  this 
faculty  had  full  play;  and  it  assured  me  vehemently 
that  we  were  wrong.  I  called  Cuninghame  up  from 
the  rear  for  consultation.  Kongoni  was  very  positive 
he  was  right,  but  as  we  had  now  been  walking  over  an 
hour,  and  camp  should  not  have  been  more  than 
three  miles  from  where  we  had  killed  the  roan,  we 
were  inclined  toward  my  instinct.  So  we  took  the 
compass  direction,  in  order  to  assure  consistency  at 
least,  and  struck  off  at  full  right  angles  to  the  left. 

So  we  tramped  for  a  long  time.  Every  few 
moments  Kongoni  would  want  another  look  at  that 
compass.     It  happened  that  we  were  now  going  due 

363 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

north;  and  his  notion  was  that  the  needle  pointed  the 
way  to  camp.  We  profoundly  hoped  that  his  faith 
in  white  man's  magic  would  not  be  shattered.  At 
the  end  of  an  hour  the  rain  let  up,  and  it  cleared 
sufficiently  to  disclose  some  of  the  mountain  out- 
lines. They  convinced  us  that  we  were  in  the  main 
right;  though  just  where,  to  the  north,  camp  now 
lay  was  beyond  our  power  to  determine.  Kongoni's 
detour  had  been  rather  indeterminate  in  direction 
and  distance. 

The  country  now  became  very  rough,  in  a  small 
way.  The  feeble  light  of  our  leading  lantern  re- 
vealed only  ghosts  and  phantoms  and  looming, 
warning  suggestions  of  things  which  the  shadows 
confused  and  shifted.  Heavily  laden  men  would 
have  found  it  difficult  travelling  by  prosaic  daylight; 
but  now,  with  the  added  impossibility  of  picking  a 
route  ahead,  we  found  ourselves  in  all  sorts  of 
trouble.  Many  times  we  had  to  back  out  and  try 
again.  The  ghostly  flickering  tree  shapes  against 
the  fathomless  black  offered  us  apparently  endless 
aisles  that  nevertheless  closed  before  us  like  the  doors 
of  a  trap  when  we  attempted  to  enter  them. 

We  kept  doggedly  to  the  same  general  northerly 
direction.  When  you  are  lost,  nothing  Is  more 
foolish  than  to  make  up  your  mind  hastily  and  with- 
out  due    reflection;    and    nothing   is    more   foolish 

364 


THE  ROAN 

than  to  change  your  mind  once  you  have  made  it 
up.  That  way  vacillation,  confusion,  and  disaster 
lie.  Should  you  decide,  after  due  consideration  of 
all  the  elements  of  the  problem,  that  you  should  go 
east;  then  east  you  go,  and  nothing  must  turn  you. 
You  may  get  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  if  nothing  else. 
And  if  you  begin  to  modify  your  original  plan,  then 
you  begin  to  circle.     Believe  me;  I  know. 

Kongoni  was  plainly  skeptical,  and  said  so  until 
I  shut  him  up  with  some  rather  peremptory  sarcasm. 
The  bearers,  who  had  to  stumble  in  the  dark  under 
heavy  burdens,  were  good-natured  and  joking.  This 
we  appreciated.  One  can  never  tell  whether  or 
not  he  is  popular  with  a  native  until  he  and  the 
native  are  caught  in  a  dangerous  or  disagreeable  fix. 

We  walked  two  hours  as  in  a  treadmill.  Then 
that  invaluable,  though  erratic,  sixth  sense  of  mine 
awoke.     I  stopped  short. 

"  I  believe  we've  come  far  enough,"  I  shouted  back 
to  Cuninghame  and  fired  my  rifle. 

We  received  an  almost  immediate  answer  from  a 
short  distance  to  the  left.  Not  over  two  hundred 
yards  in  that  direction  we  met  our  camp  men  bearing 
torches,  and  so  were  escorted  in  triumph  after  a 
sixteen-hour  day. 


36s 


XLVI 

THE  GREATER  KUDU 

NEXT  morning,  In  a  joking  manner,  I  tried  to 
Impress  KongonI  with  a  sense  of  delinquency 
In  not  knowing  better  his  directions,  especially  as 
he  had  twice  traversed  the  route.  He  declined  to 
be  Impressed. 

"It  Is  not  the  business  of  man  to  walk  at  night," 
he  replied  with  dignity. 

And  when  you  stop  to  think  of  It,  It  certainly  Is 
not  —  In  Africa. 

At  this  camp  we  lingered  several  days.  The  great 
prize  of  our  journeying  still  lacked,  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  we  had  about  given  up  hope  If  not  our  efforts. 
Almost  we  had  begun  to  believe  our  friends  in 
Nariobi  who  had  scoffed  at  the  uselessness  of  our 
quest.  Always  we  conscientiously  looked  over  good 
kudu  country,  hundreds  of  miles  of  It,  and  always 
with  the  same  lack  of  result,  or  even  of  encourage- 
ment. Other  game  we  saw  In  plenty,  of  a  dozen 
different  varieties  large  and  small;  but  our  five  weeks' 
search  had  thus  far  yielded  us  only  the  sight  of  the 

366 


THE  GREATER  KUDU 

same  old,  old  sign,  made  many  months  before.  If 
you  had  stood  with  us  atop  one  of  the  mountains, 
and  with  us  had  looked  abroad  on  the  countless 
leagues  of  rolling,  brush-clothed  land,  undulating 
away  In  all  directions  over  a  far  horizon,  you  must 
with  us  have  estimated  as  very  slight  the  chances  of 
happening  on  the  exact  pin  point  where  the  kudu  at 
that  moment  happened  to  be  feeding.  For  the 
beast  is  shy,  it  inhabits  the  densest,  closest  mountain 
cover,  it  possesses  the  keen  eyesight  and  sense  of 
smell  of  the  bush-dwelling  deer  and  antelope,  and 
more  than  the  average  sense  of  hearing.  There 
are  very  few  of  him.  But  the  chief  discouragement 
is  that  arising  from  his  roaming  tendencies.  Other 
rare  animals  are  apt  to  "use"  about  one  locality,  so 
that  once  the  hunter  finds  tracks,  new  or  old,  his 
game  Is  one  of  patient,  skillful  search.  The  greater 
kudu,  however  seems  in  this  country  at  least  to  be 
a  wanderer.  He  is  here  to-day,  and  gone  to-morrow. 
Systematic  search  seems  as  foolish  as  in  the  case  of 
the  proverbial  needle  in  the  haystack.  The  only 
method  is  to  shift  constantly,  and  trust  to  luck.  One 
cannot  catch  fish  with  the  fly  in  the  book,  but  he  has 
at  least  a  chance  if  he  keeps  it  on  the  water. 

Mavroukl  was  the  only  one  among  us  who  had 
the  living  faith  that  comes  from  having  seen  the 
animal  in  the  flesh.     That  is  a  curious  bit  of  hunter 

367 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

psychology.  When  a  man  is  out  after  a  species  new 
to  him,  it  is  only  by  the  utmost  stretch  of  the  im- 
agination that  he  is  able  to  realize  that  such  an 
animal  can  exist  at  all.  He  cannot  prefigure  It, 
somehow.  He  generally  exaggerates  to  himself 
the  difficulty  of  making  it  out,  of  approaching  it, 
of  getting  his  shot;  until  at  last,  if  he  happens  to 
have  hunted  some  time  in  vain,  the  beast  becomes 
almost  mythical  and  unbelievable.  Once  he  has  seen 
the  animal,  whether  he  gets  a  shot  or  not,  all  this 
vanishes.  The  strain  on  faith  relaxes.  He  knows 
what  to  look  for,  and  what  to  expect;  and  even  if  he 
sees  no  other  specimen  for  a  month,  he  nevertheless 
goes  about  the  business  with  a  certain  confidence. 

One  afternoon  we  had  been  hunting  carefully  cer- 
tain low  mountains,  and  were  headed  for  camp, 
walking  rather  carelessly  along  the  bed  of  a  narrow, 
open  valley  below  the  bush-covered  side  hills.  The 
sun  had  disappeared  behind  the  ranges,  and  the  dusk 
of  evening  was  just  beginning  to  rise  like  a  mist  from 
the  deeps  of  the  cafions.  We  had  ceased  hunting  — 
it  was  time  to  hurry  home  —  and  happened  not  to  be 
talking  only  because  we  were  tired.  By  sheerest 
idle  luck  I  chanced  to  look  up  to  the  densely  covered 
face  of  the  mountain.  Across  a  single  tiny  opening 
in  the  tall  brush  five  or  six  hundred  yards  away  I 
caught  a  movement.     Still  idly  I  lifted  my  glasses 

368 


'if-- 


3 

TS 

s 
M 


O 


THE  GREATER  KUDU 

for  a  look  at  what  I  thought  would  prove  the  usual 
impalla  or  sing-sing,  and  was  just  in  time  to  catch  the 
spirals  of  a  magnificent  set  of  horns.  It  was  the 
greater  kudu  at  last! 

I  gave  a  little  cluck  of  caution;  and  instantly, 
without  question,  after  the  African  fashion,  the  three 
men  ahead  of  me  sank  to  the  ground.  Cuninghame 
looked  at  me  inquiringly.  I  motioned  with  my  eyes. 
He  raised  his  glasses  for  one  look. 

"That's  the  fellow,"  he  said  quietly. 

The  kudu,  as  though  he  had  merely  stepped  into 
the  opening  to  give  us  a  sight  of  him,  melted  into 
the  brush. 

It  was  magnificent  and  exciting  to  have  seen  this 
wonderful  beast  after  so  long  a  quest,  but  by  the 
same  token  it  was  not  very  encouraging  for  all  that. 
If  we  had  had  all  the  daylight  we  needed,  and  un- 
limited time,  it  would  have  been  quite  a  feat  to  stalk 
the  wary  beast  in  that  thick,  noisy  cover.  Now  it 
was  almost  dark,  and  would  be  quite  dark  within  the 
half  hour.  The  kudu  had  moved  out  of  sight. 
Whether  he  had  gone  on  some  distance,  or  whether 
he  still  lingered  near  the  edge  of  the  tiny  opening  was 
another  matter  to  be  determined,  and  to  be  deter- 
mined quickly. 

Leaving  KongonI  and  Mavrouki,  Cuninghame  and 
I  wriggled  pantingly  up  the  hill,  as  fast  and  at  the 

369 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

same  time  as  cautiously  as  we  could.  At  the  edge 
of  the  opening  we  came  to  a  halt,  belly  down,  and 
began  eagerly  to  scrutinize  the  brush  across  the  way. 
If  the  kudu  still  lingered  we  had  to  find  it  out  before 
we  ventured  out  of  cover  to  take  up  his  trail.  Inch 
by  inch  we  scrutinized  every  possible  concealment. 
Finally  Cuninghame  breathed  sharp  with  satisfaction. 
He  had  caught  sight  of  the  tip  of  one  horn.  With  some 
difficulty  he  indicated  to  me  where.  After  staring 
long  enough,  we  could  dimly  make  out  the  kudu  him- 
self browsing,  from  the  tender  branch-ends. 

All  we  could  do  was  to  lie  low.  If  the  kudu  fed  on 
out  of  sight  into  the  cover,  we  could  not  possibly 
get  a  shot;  if  he  should  happen  again  to  cross  the 
opening,  we  would  get  a  good  shot.  No  one  but  a 
hunter  can  understand  the  panting,  dry-mouthed 
excitement  of  those  minutes;  five  weeks'  hard  work 
hung  in  the  balance.  The  kudu  did  neither  of 
these  things;  he  ceased  browsing,  took  three  steps 
forward,  and  stood. 

The  game  seemed  blocked.  The  kudu  had  evidently 
settled  down  for  a  snooze;  it  was  impossible,  in  the 
situation,  to  shorten  the  distance  without  being 
discovered;  the  daylight  was  almost  gone;  we  could 
make  out  no  trace  of  him  except  through  our  glasses. 
Look  as  hard  as  we  could,  we  could  see  nothing  with 
the  naked  eye.     Unless  something  happened  within 

370 


THE  GREATER  KUDU 

the  next  two  minutes  we  would  bring  nothing  into 
camp  but  the  memory  of  a  magnificent  beast.  And 
next  day  he  would  probably  be  Inextricably  lost  In 
the  wilderness  of  mountains.* 

It  was  a  time  for  desperate  measures,  and,  to  Cun- 
inghame's  evident  anxiety,!  took  them.  Through  the 
glasses  the  mane  of  the  kudu  showed  as  a  dim  gray 
streak.  Carefully  I  picked  out  two  twigs  on  a  bush 
fifteen  feet  from  me  and  a  tuft  of  grass  ten  yards  on, 
all  of  which  were  In  line  with  where  the  shoulder  of 
the  kudu  ought  to  be.  Then  I  lowered  my  glasses. 
The  gray  streak  of  the  kudu's  mane  had  disappeared 
In  the  blending  twilight;  but  I  could  still  see  the  tips 
of  the  twigs  and  the  tuft  of  grass.  Very  carefully  I 
aligned  the  sights  with  these;  and,  with  a  silent  prayer 
to  the  Red  Gods,  loosed  the  bullet  Into  the  darkness. 

At  the  crack  of  the  rifle  the  kudu  leaped  Into  plain 
sight. 

"Hit!"  rasped  Cunlnghame  in  great  excitement. 

I  did  not  wait  to  verify  this,  but  fired  four  times 
more  as  fast  as  I  could  work  the  bolt.  Three  of  the 
bullets  told.  At  the  last  shot  he  crumpled  and  came 
rolling  down  the  slope.  We  both  raised  a  wild 
whoop  of  triumph,  which  was  answered  at  once  by 
the  expectant  gunbearers  below. 

The  finest  trophy  in  Africa  was  ours! 

*Trailing  for  any  distance  was  impossible  on  account  of  the  stony  soil. 


XLVII 
THE  MAGIC  PORTALS  CLOSE 

IT  seemed  hopeless  to  try  for  a  picture.  Never- 
theless I  opened  wide  my  lens,  steadied  the 
camera,  and  gave  it  a  half  second.  The  result  was 
fairly  good.  So  much  for  a  high  grade  lens.  We 
sent  Kongoni  in  to  camp  for  help,  and  ourselves 
proceeded  to  build  up  the  usual  fire  for  signal  and 
for  protection  against  wild  beasts.  Then  we  sat 
down  to  enjoy  the  evening,  while  Mavrouki  skinned 
the  kudu. 

We  looked  abroad  over  a  wide  stretch  of  country. 
Successive  low  ridges  crossed  our  front,  each  of  a 
different  shade  of  slate  gray  from  its  neighbours; 
and  a  gray  half-luminous  mist  filled  the  valley 
between  them.  The  edge  of  the  world  was  thrown 
sharp  against  burnished  copper.  After  a  time  the 
moon  rose. 

Memba  Sasa  arrived  before  the  lanterns,  out  of 
breath,  his  face  streaming  with  perspiration.  Poor 
Memba  Sasa !  this  was  almost  the  only  day  he  had  not 
followed  close  at  my  heels,  and  on  this  day  we  had 

372 


THE  MAGIC  PORTALS  CLOSE 

captured  the  Great  Prize !  No  thought  of  that  seemed 
to  affect  the  heartiness  of  his  joy.  He  rushed  up  to 
shake  both  my  hands;  he  examined  the  kudu  with  an 
attention  that  was  held  only  by  great  restraint;  he 
let  go  that  restraint  to  shake  me  again  enthusiasti- 
cally by  the  hands.  After  him,  up  the  hill,  bobbed 
slowly  the  lanterns.  The  smiling  bearers  shouldered 
the  trophy  and  the  meat;  and  we  stumbled  home 
through  the  half  shadows  and  the  opalescences  of 
the  moonlight. 

Our  task  in  this  part  of  the  country  was  now 
finished.  We  set  out  on  the  return  journey.  The 
weather  changed.  A  beautiful,  bright-copper  sun- 
set was  followed  by  a  drizzle.  By  morning  this  had 
turned  into  a  heavy  rain.  We  left  the  topi  camp  to 
which  we  had  by  now  returned,  cold  and  miserable. 
Cuninghame  and  I  had  contributed  our  waterproofs 
to  protect  the  precious  trophies;  and  we  were  speedily 
wet  through.  The  grass  was  long.  This  was  no 
warm  and  grateful  tropical  rain;  but  a  driving,  chill- 
ing storm  straight  out  from  the  high  mountains. 

We  marched  up  the  long  plain,  we  turned  to  the 
left  around  the  base  of  the  ranges,  we  mounted  the 
narrow  grass  valley,  we  entered  the  forest  —  the 
dark,  dripping,  and  unfriendly  forest.  Over  the  edge 
we  dropped  and  clambered  down  through  the  hang- 
ing vines  and  the  sombre   trees.      By  and  by  we 

373 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

emerged  on  the  open  plains  below,  the  plains  on  the 
hither  side  of  the  Narossara,  the  Africa  we  had 
known  so  long.  The  rain  ceased.  It  was  almost 
as  though  a  magic  portal  had  clicked  after  us.  Be- 
hind it  lay  the  wonderful  secret  upper  country  of 
the  unknown. 


374 


XLVIII 
THE  LAST  TREK 

SOME  weeks  later  we  camped  high  on  the  slopes 
of  Suswa,  the  great  mountain  of  the  Rift  Val- 
ley, only  one  day's  march  from  the  railroad.  After 
the  capture  of  the  kudu  Africa  still  held  for  us 
various  adventures  —  a  buffalo,  a  go  of  fever,  and 
the  like  —  but  the  culmination  had  been  reached. 
We  had  lingered  until  the  latest  moment,  reluctant 
to  go.  Now  in  the  gray  dawn  we  were  filing  down 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains  for  the  last  trek.  A  low, 
flowing  mist  marked  the  distant  Kedong;  the  flames 
of  an  African  sunrise  were  revelling  in  the  eastern 
skies.  All  our  old  friends  seemed  to  be  bidding  us 
good-bye.  Around  the  shoulder  of  the  mountains 
a  lion  roared,  rumble  upon  rumble.  Two  hyenas 
leaped  from  the  grass,  ran  fifty  yards,  and  turned  to 
look  at  us. 

"Good-bye,  simba!  good-bye,  ficeT^  we  cried  to 
them  sadly. 

A  little  farther  we  saw  zebra,  and  the  hartebeeste, 
and  the  gazelles.      One  by  one  appeared  and  disap- 

375 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

peared  again  the  beasts  with  which  we  had  grown 
so  familiar  during  our  long  months  in  the  jungle.  So 
remarkable  was  the  number  of  species  that  we  both 
began  to  comment  upon  the  fact,  to  greet  the 
animals,  to  say  them  farewell,  as  though  they  were 
reporting  orderly  from  the  jungle  to  bid  us  godspeed. 
Half  in  earnest  we  waved  our  hands  to  them  and 
shouted  our  greetings  to  them  in  the  native  —  punda 
milia,  kongoni,  pa-a,  fice,  rrCpofu,  twiga,  simba, 
rCgrooui,  and  the  rest.  Before  our  eyes  the  misty 
ranges  hardened  and  stiffened  under  the  fierce  sun. 
Our  men  marched  steadily,  cheerfully,  beating  their 
loads  in  rhythm  with  their  safari  sticks,  crooning 
under  their  breaths  and  occasionally  breaking  into 
full-voiced  chant.  They  were  glad  to  be  back  from 
the  long  safari,  back  from  across  the  Thirst,  from 
the  high,  cold  country,  from  the  dangers  and  discom- 
forts of  the  unknown.  We  rode  a  little  wistfully, 
for  these  great  plains  and  mysterious  jungles, 
these  populous,  dangerous,  many-voiced  nights, 
these  flaming,  splendid  dawnings  and  day-falls,  these 
fierce,  shimmering  noons  we  were  to  know  no  more. 
Two  days  we  had  In  Nairobi  before  going  to  the 
coast.  There  we  paid  off  and  dismissed  our  men, 
giving  them  presents  according  to  the  length  and 
faithfulness  of  their  service.  They  took  them  and 
departed,  eagerly,  as  was  natural,  to  the  families  and 

376 


THE  LAST  TREK 

the  pleasures  from  which  they  had  been  so  long 
separated.  Mohamet  said  good-bye,  and  went,  and 
was  sorry;  Kongoni  departed,  after  many,  and 
sincere  protestions;  quiet  little  Mavrouki  came  back 
three  times  to  shake  hands  again,  and  disappeared 
reluctantly —  but  disappeared;  Leyeye  went;  Abba 
Ali  followed  the  service  of  his  master,  Cuninghame; 
"Timothy"  received  his  present — In  which  he  was 
disappointed  —  and  departed  with  salaams.  Only 
Memba  Sasa  remained.  I  paid  him  for  his  long 
service,  and  I  gave  him  many  and  rich  presents,  and 
bade  farewell  to  him  with  genuine  regret  and 
affection. 

Memba  Sasa  had  wives  and  a  farm  near  town, 
neither  of  which  possessions  he  had  seen  for  a  very 
long  while.  Nevertheless  he  made  no  move  to  see 
them.  When  our  final  interview  had  terminated 
with  the  usual  ^^hassl"  (It  is  finished)  he  shook 
hands  once  more  and  withdrew,  but  only  to  take  his 
position  across  the  street.  There  he  squatted  on  his 
heels,  fixed  his  eyes  upon  me,  and  remained.  I 
went  downtown  on  business.  Happening  to  glance 
through  the  office  window  I  caught  sight  of  Memba 
Sasa,  again  across  the  street,  squatted  on  his  heels, 
his  gaze  fixed  unwaveringly  on  my  face.  So  it  was 
for  two  days.  When  I  tried  to  approach  him,  he 
glided  away,  so  that  I  got  no  further  speech  with  him; 

377 


AFRICAN  CAMP  FIRES 

but  always,  quietly  and  unobtrusively,  he  returned 
to  where  he  could  see  me  plainly.  He  considered 
that  our  interview  had  terminated  our  official 
relations,  but  he  wanted  to  see  the  last  of  the  bzvana 
with  whom  he  had  journeyed  so  far. 

One  makes  many  acquaintances  as  one  knocks 
about  the  world;  and  once  in  a  great  many  moons 
one  finds  a  friend  —  a  man  the  mere  fact  of  whose 
existence  one  is  glad  to  realize,  whether  one  ever 
sees  him  again  or  not.  These  are  not  many,  and 
they  are  of  various  degree.  Among  them  I  am  glad 
to  number  this  fierce  savage.  He  was  efficient,  self- 
respecting,  brave,  staunch,  and  loyal  with  a  great 
loyalty.  I  do  not  think  I  can  better  end  this  book 
than  by  this  tribute  to  a  man  whose  opportunities 
were  not  many,  but  whose  soul  was  great 


THE    END 


37« 


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